Nemo: The Gold Chronicles: Book IV
by CJ Moliere
Summary: The day the Dark Curse is cast in the Enchanted Forest Jiminy Cricket is ripped away from his world and his friends and sent to the OZ. When a great evil is unleashed and possesses the young princess Azkadellia Ozopov, Jiminy makes it his life's mission to free her from the darkness, no matter what the cost.
1. Gypsies Tramps and Thieves

This story like Dreaming of a Knight In Blue and Cold Heritage will contain scenes that were included in Book I: The Heart of Everything but will be told from the POVs of these characters as well as scenes that were not.

Chapter Text

Gypsies, tramps, and thieves

We'd hear it from the people of the town

Cher - Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

The Enchanted Forest

One hundred years prior to the Dark Curse

One Hundred years prior to the Double Eclipse

"Stop the wagon! Stop!"

Martin Whitmore yanked on the reins and brought the horses to an abrupt stop at the shrill scream from the back of the wagon where his wife Myrna had been resting before their puppet show in a nearby village. He jumped down and ran to the back of the wagon finding Myrna in the doorway clutching her belly.

"Ah for Lurline's sakes, don't tell me its time!" he groaned.

"Get the midwife you fool," she said through gritted teeth and shuffled back into the wagon to lay on her pallet, cursing herself and the fool she'd married for missing one too many doses of the contraceptive potion they'd gotten from a woman in another village. They were barely making ends meet as it was and soon there would be another mouth to feed or, goddess preserve them, two. Her husband Martin had been an identical twin. His brother Morgan had obtained a magical coin from Oz and taken a portal to a place called England to escape the thieving and conning their father had gotten them into when they were barely out of their nappies. Their father was also a skilled puppeteer and taught his sons to pick the pockets of the patrons while they watched the show. Martin and his father continued travelling from village to village until he'd had fallen victim to the Ozian plague and performing a puppet show solo had proven to be a difficult task for Martin, forcing him to resort to using his father's old con games to earn fast cash. Pretending to be disabled was one of his personal favorites and the con was on him when he met an attractive young woman named Myrna who offered him a bottle of one of her father's potions, promising that it would bring him good fortune. It had, just not in the way he expected. He lost all the money he had left but he'd gained a clever partner in Myrna who began incorporating her father's 'miracle tonics' into their bag of tricks and it proved to be more successful than the puppet shows.

Martin unhitched one of the horses and rode hell for leather into the village, grateful he'd managed to catch the midwife before left town, hearing Myrna screaming in agony when they returned to the wagon a short time later. The midwife pushed Martin aside and climbed into the wagon, slamming the door behind her. Myrna continued screaming while she labored, calling him every foul name she could think of and even inventing a few new ones. Just before midnight the screams stopped followed by the cries of not one child, but two. Moments later the door opened and the midwife came out holding her precious bundles in her arms.

"You have two sons, lad."

"Sons!" Martin exclaimed. "I can barely afford one mouth to feed and now I have two!"

The midwife snorted. "You make 'em but don't always want 'em. What're you gonna do? Ask the Dark One to take them away?"

"The Dark One? Who is that?"

"The most powerful sorcerer in all the realms. Rumplestiltskin, but my advice to you lad is to accept your responsibilities and forget about that demon."

"You mind your business!" He tossed a sack of coins at her. "You can go."

"Are you mad! Your wife has just given birth! She needs to be cared for or she'll die of childbed fever."

"I'll take care of her myself. You're expensive enough as it is."

She gazed down at the babies in her arms and shook her head. "I pity you having these two for folks, lads."

Martin snatched his sons out of her hands. "Go on then!"

She continued to glare at him while she walked down the road. Martin took the babies back into the wagon for his wife to nurse, little as she liked it but while he watched her he began to smile.

"What?"

"We may not be able to afford both but we can afford one, with the Dark One's help of course," Martin said. "If we offer him one of the boys, he can give us all the riches we need to support the other one. Think about it Myrna! The boy could move through the crowds like the wind after we teach him while we're putting on our shows. And who can resist helping a sick child and his destitute parents?"

Myrna burst out laughing. "It's perfect but how do we call this Dark One?"

They heard a giggle and a magenta puff of smoke appeared in front of the cot revealed a gold and green scaled man in leathers. "Your souls, of course!" He approached the cot and gazed down at the babies in Myrna's arms. "Handsome lads you have there, dearies but a bit of a strain on the purse strings, eh?"

"We'll give you one in exchange for your help," Martin proposed.

"Ah but I don't need a child, dearie. I can, however, make certain that it finds a good home. Now, which one are you going to keep and which will be my fee?"

The pair looked at each other and shrugged.

"Oh, very well. I'll choose. Give me one."

Myrna handed one of the babies to the sorcerer.

He gazed down at its tiny face, his eyes glazing over. "From the North he will be the heart of the soul forgotten..." he murmured. He raised his head, a vision of a tall man with ginger hair, mustache and beard dressed in black leather and gold armor flashing before his eyes along with the image of a glowing emerald stone hanging on a chain around the neck of a petite young woman with dark hair bearing a striking resemblance to the current queen of the OZ, Alexandra Ozopov. The Ozopov and the Strogoff were the most powerful mages in all the realms as they were the direct descendants of the Ozian gods Lurline and Aramon and the other side's Greek gods Hades and Persephone, They were also charged with keeping the balance between darkness and light along with their bondmates. A member from each house would represent a directional point on the compass with one of the four elements as their personal symbol. The Ozopov, now females in this new circle, guarded the North and South gates with an emerald as the symbol for the North and the element earth, a chalice as the symbol of the South and the element water. The Strogoff, males in this new circle guarded the East and West gates with a dragon's head staff as the symbol for the element air for the East and a sword with flames engraved on it as the symbol of the element fire for the West. Their bondmates represented the fifth element, spirit. The bondmates or Hearts of the Guardians, served as a Guardian's protector and lover until their last breath. The Hearts of the Guardians were chosen by the goddess Ozmalita, the Ozian keeper of Souls and the youngest child of Lurline and Aramon. Only the purest hearts in all the realms would be chosen to carry the burden of being the Heart of a Guardian.

You lad, will be one of those Hearts but your path to becoming the Heart of the North will not be an easy one. You must walk through the darkness before you can find the light.

His gaze now focused on the second child, still in his mother's arms. The vision he was given for this child was that of a knight in a great kingdom, the fighting skills he would learn as a young squire to be inherited by the brother through the blood link they share but would not meet until they were older and in another form. Then he was given another vision of the boy, now an older man in a strange land. He also sensed the presence of a soul reborn...in both boys with skills they would need for the dangers they'd face.

"One to battle the darkness, one to see the horrors the darkness leaves behind...the soul of one shared by two."

Martin and Myrna stared at each other, nothing the sorcerer was saying making a bit of sense but they didn't care as long as he delivered on his promise to ease their financial burden.

"That one. I will take that child," he said, pointing to the son in Myrna's arms. "But he should have a name at least. Allow me. Jasper. Your name shall be Jasper."

"Why Jasper?"

A white knight in blue to heal the wounded heart of the sleeping princess with true love's kiss, he thought. A soul reborn to reunite with the love he's lost.

"Why should it matter to you? You're giving him to me and I'll name him as I see fit. And the son you intend to keep...Jiminy. His name shall be Jiminy."

He found it fitting that the lad whose destiny lay in the OZ should be named for the curse word introduced to the natives by Queen Dorothia Gale Ozopov herself when she arrived there through a travel storm centuries earlier. It among other things would be another link in the armor he would need in the battles he would face in that land.

"Very well. Jiminy."

He took Jasper from Myrna's arms and a contract appeared on the table before them. "Now if you would just sign there our deal is struck."

Martin picked up the quill and signed his name without hesitation, Myrna following suit. The contract vanished and a large sack of coins appeared on the table.

"Spend it wisely, dearies. Oh, and congratulations on your little bundle of joy," Rumple giggled before he vanished with Jasper.

Unfortunately, Martin and Myrna managed money as poorly as the managed their son. The sack of coins they'd been given only lasted a few months and soon they were back on the road again alternating between selling their miracle tonic or using their young son as means to gain access to the homes of their marks so that they could rob them of their worldly goods. All too soon it was Jiminy's time to learn the tricks of the trade and he'd already become an accomplished thief before his eighth birthday yet deep in his heart he longed to be someone else.

"Oh, a cricket! I love crickets!" Jiminy cried when he pulled a cage out of one of the bags he'd taken and found a cricket trapped inside.

"Crickets are trouble. Noisy bugs," Myna said and snatched the cage out of his son's hand.

"But they get to do whatever they want, hopping from place to place. They're free."

"You're free," Myrna reminded her son.

"To do what we want," Martin reiterated.

"To be who you are."

"And you are who you are."

"Well maybe I want to be something else. Maybe I don't wanna steal. Maybe I wanna be good like Uncle Morgan."

"All that from a cricket."

"Told ya. Trouble."

"Good" is another word for 'weak'," Martin said bitterly. It was something his father often said and what his brother Morgan failed to understand.

"Let us do the thinking for you."

"That's what parents are for."

"To help you."

"You are who you are, and there's no changing it Jiminy. Right?"

"Right," Jiminy sighed.

"Right. Problem solved. Now get rid of that thing and help us start cleaning up," Martin ordered.

Each year passed, the same as every other. They would travel from village to village, fair to fair holding their puppet shows while Jiminy moved through the crowds taking anything and everything he could get his hands on whether it be coins or precious jewels that his mother would wear or sell. Once in a while they would work the 'elf tonic' scheme into their repertoire but only when the occasion called for it.

When he turned eighteen his father had taken him into one of the towns they visited so Jiminy could gain some 'world experience' as Martin called it.

"Papa, I just want to sit outside and…"

"Listen to those damned crickets? Boy, how in the hell are you going to learn anything if that's all you want to do at night? Now come on and quit your grousing!" He yanked Jiminy's ear and pulled him in the direction of a tavern. Inside there were at least fifty men seated at the tables, drinking, playing cards and dice and flirting with the barmaids.

"'Ello boys," one of them said as she leaned over the table, giving both of them a view of her bosom as she did so. "New in town 'eh? What'll ya have?"

"A pint of ale for me and my boy. It's his birthday."

"Oh….and how old are you, handsome?" she asked a nervous Jiminy.

"Ummm….eighteen…"

"Oh, a man now, are ya?"

"He's not a man yet, if you know what I mean." Martin said, winking at the barmaid.

"Papa!" The boy flushed scarlet.

"Well, tell you what: you bring him upstairs later on and we can take care of that."

"What's it gonna cost me?"

"Papa! I can't…you can't…!" Jiminy protested.

"Trust me honey, once I get through with you, you'll want to," the barmaid sniggered.

"No!"

"Jiminy, pipe down. You're making a scene!" his father hissed.

"Oh, he's just nervous. We all are the first time, aren't we? You just relax and have a few pints to calm yourself and I'll take good care of you."

"Do I have to…?"

Martin grabbed his wrist and squeezed it. "I'm putting our money down boy so you're gonna go up there and do it!"

"I don't know what to do…"

Martin shoved a mug of ale at his son. "Drink up and relax. She'll be doing all the work. You just lay there."

Jiminy was too drunk by the time they had to go upstairs that his father was practically dragging him. "Dammit, should have stopped you after the fourth one. You're not gonna be able to do a damned thing with the shape you're in!"

"Why….I …gotta….go upstairs….wanna go listen to crickets!" Jiminy slurred.

"We're not gonna listen to crickets now shut up!" He leaned his drunk son against the wall while he knocked on Agatha's door.

She stepped, took one look at the teenager and scowled at Martin. "Lurline's underdrawers, how much ale did you give him? He's not gonna be able to perform like that!"

"Well can't you do something with him?"

"Would have preferred him to be sober so I'm not doing all the work! Ah, forget it, just bring him in here and I'll figure something out."

Martin dragged Jiminy into the room and dumped him on the bed. He was sleeping. Martin slapped him across the face to rouse him. "WAKE UP, DAMMIT!"

"Papa…..we gotta go on the road again?"

"Oh for the gods' sake, NO. Jiminy, you're not gonna pass out. You wake the hell up and do your duty boy!"

"He's not gonna be able to with you in the room and I don't like an audience! Go back downstairs or wherever the hell you wanna go and I'll send him down in the morning!"

Martin glared at her and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Agatha sat on the edge of the bed and ran her hand through the young man's hair. "Your papa's an ass boy. I'd give you a good tumble but I'd rather you be awake for it."

"Tired…"

"I know and your head's gonna feel like somebody dropped a boulder on it in the morning but don't you worry. I got a tonic that can take care of that."

"Papa's tonics…just water…"

"Ohh…so he's one of those 'eh. Whadda ya say we run a little con of our own on the old buzzard?"

"Huh…?"

"Bastard's probably standing outside the door wanting to hear something going on. He's gonna get a show all right, just not one he's expectin'. I'm gonna need the bed here so let's get you up and over on that sofa…."

She helped him to his feet and led him over to the sofa, covering him up with the blankets from her bed. She wouldn't need them right away, not for her charade. Jiminy was asleep the moment his head touched the cushions.

Agatha was grateful the poor boy was too drunk; the noise she was making as she thrashed about on the bed was loud enough to wake the dead. It was a trick she had to perform a few times when fathers brought their sons to her to 'break them in'. All of them were nervous and a few of them had gotten too drunk to perform as the poor boy sleeping a few feet away from her did and the bastards often did stand outside the door wanting to hear her screaming their heads off and cheering their sons on for doing a good job.

Later Jiminy awoke and could hear the sounds of the headboard banging against the wall, the bedsprings creaking and Agatha moaning and screaming out some of the dirtiest words he'd ever heard and he could even hear his father on the other side of the bedroom door cheering him on. He threw the pillow over his head to drown out the noise, having no desire to even look at what she was doing.

"Damn, I forgot how exhausted doing that gets me," Agatha exclaimed breathlessly when she knelt beside the sofa. "But don't you worry sweetie. If your papa wasn't convinced you got tumbled before, he will be now."

"W…What were you…doing over there?" he asked as he sat up.

"Didn't that ass ever talk to you about that?" Agatha questioned as she sat down beside him.

"About what?"

"Lurline's underdrawers! He hasn't had that talk with you, has he?" she pressed when she gazed at his face and noticed the confusion.

"Ummmm… I didn't think you could…without someone there to…" Jiminy said nervously.

Agatha rolled her eyes. "What is the matter with the parents in this goddessforsaken realm? You boys need to know this stuff or you'll be fathering bastards from here to Wonderland! Might as well get comfortable, sweetie. This is going to be a very long conversation."

I need to remind myself to whack that ass when I see him. What father in his right mind does not discuss these things with his son? I may regret it, but I better find out what the hell else this boy is ignorant about.

She wouldn't mind teaching the boy at all. He was a handsome one even though he was a bit on the shy side. As she suspected he woke up the next morning with a terrible hangover, barely able to get off the sofa. His father wanted them to get on the road as quickly as possible but she refused to let Jiminy leave, telling the boy's father he was in no condition to be travelling. He was feeling better the second night but now his father wanted to stay and see how well the boy could do sober.

Agatha tried to make the boy's first time as pleasant as possible but it wasn't easy. He was still nervous and worried that he wasn't doing it right though she assured him he was doing fine and it helped that they talked.

"I don't like having to do this all the time either," she confessed to him later.

"Why do you?" he asked.

"Tried doing other things honey, ended up right back where I started but you can do a lot more for yourself than what that old buzzard wants. He's an ass and he's gonna drag you down with him."

"I want to do something else…"

She smiled. "I hope so. This kinda life isn't for you, Jiminy. You're the type that would settle down with a wife and children, just need to leave that ass you call a papa in the dust first."

They stayed in town for a week and Jiminy did enjoy spending time with Agatha though he always felt guilty that his father was paying her to sleep with him.

"I'm not doing this for the money that ass gives me, Jiminy."

"You're not?"

"No, I'm not. You're different from the other men who come in here…you actually give a damn about women, not treat us like we're just here for you to stick it in when you need to satisfy your lust. I know you feel guilty about it when we do it but trust me honey, one day you're gonna find a woman you'll want to do this with and you'll be as sweet with her as you are with me."

"Papa does this in every town we visit…and he's not supposed to because he's married to Mama."

Agatha sighed. "That's the problem with a lot of men these days; can't be faithful to their wives…but if your mama is like that buzzard, wouldn't want to be faithful to her either."

"I don't want to be like those other men…I would want to be faithful to my wife. I want to wait until I'm married to do this again."

She smiled. "You're going to be a fine lover to a lucky woman someday Jiminy. You know now what you need to do but the rest has gotta come from your heart."

"Can I see you again if we come back to town…just to talk?"

"You sure can honey…if that buzzard you call a papa doesn't get you run outta here first." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and held him closer. "If I were a little younger I'd run away with you."

"We could ask the Dark..." She pressed her finger against his lips.

"Shh! Don't say his name. You don't want his help."

"But I might."

"No, you don't. Trust me on this one, honey."

"Maybe."

"Put the thought out of your head honey and get away from those buzzards you call your folks some other way. Now get some sleep. That buzzard you call a papa's gonna come bargin in here in the morning to wake you up bright and early. You're a good man, Jiminy, and as I said before, you're gonna make a fine lover to some lucky woman."

"I hope my brother's living a better life than this."

"You have a brother, honey?"

"He's my twin. My folks gave him away when we were born. I don't know where he is or if he even thinks about us at all. Probably not but I think about him a lot. I wish I could meet him."

"Maybe you will someday honey. Maybe you will."

They left the village a week later and though Jiminy longed to see Aggie again they couldn't because Martin now had a price on his head courtesy of Aggie's employer. Martin had managed to swindle the man out of an entire week's profits by sneaking into his office while his son dozed upstairs with Aggie. They left the town and life went on, little as the young man liked it.

When Jiminy was in his early twenties they started making enough money from their ticket sales that they didn't need to steal but Martin and Myrna were relentless in their pursuit of the almighty coin and never seemed to have enough.

"Oh can't we just... Can't we just put on a show? We make enough on ticket sales do we have to steal too?" he asked them when they arrived at yet another village. There were so many that the faces and the names all looked the same to him.

"We don't need to, but it's nice. We steal from them and they steal from someone else," Martin said, annoyed with his stubborn son. The boy was becoming too much like Morgan that it was sickening.

"It's called an economy."

"We're a vital part of it."

"I want to change. I-I want to quit!" Jiminy pouted.

"Oh, this again!" Myrna moaned yet she and her husband knew exactly what to do to silence the whelp.

"No, you can't leave now."

"We're getting old."

"It's my hip."

"My liver."

"I got lumps in strange places."

"I've got burning sensations."

"You'd better stay with us."

"Just until we die."

"Now, be a good boy and set up."

Jiminy sighed as they walked away. He looked up at the sky and saw it turning dark as a storm blew in from the North, his parents' voices echoing in his ears. They were right. They were always right. This was his life and he had to learn to accept it. While he was setting up the wagon a young boy holding an umbrella approached him.

"Puppets! Wow! What a great job you have! You don't like it?" the boy asked, seeing his pained look.

"No, no I don't. Same show, same fairs, every year."

"Well, then why don't you do something else?"

"It's just who I am. Well, did you just come out here to watch us set up?"

" No, I came out here to listen to the crickets."

"Oh, crickets. Oh, I haven't listened to the crickets in a while. Hey, you'd better get home or you're gonna catch a cold."

"So will you. Here, have my umbrella. I don't live far."

Jiminy was touched by the boy's kindness. He took the umbrella gratefully. "Thank you."

"I can't wait to see the show!" the boy called back as he ran home.

As Jiminy held the umbrella in his hand an image flashed before his eyes of a knight in armor fighting a duel with another night. He raised the umbrella up as he'd seen the knight do in his image and began to swing it back and forth as if he were dueling against an invisible enemy. Exhausted from his labors, he leaned against the wagon wishing he could be a knight. Being a knight was better than being a thief. He couldn't understand why he had such a vision. Only magicians had that ability and he was no magician. He shook it off and went back to the wagon to dry off and change clothes. There wouldn't be a show unless the rain stopped and if there was no show that meant his parents were going to use the 'elf tonic' scheme again.

Luck was on his side when the rain stopped hours before the show started. He searched for the little boy in the audience but didn't see him. it was just as well. He didn't find his parents shows all that entertaining and most the adults didn't either but the children loved it. However, once word get out that a thief roamed the crowds of no other shows but theirs they would be forced to move on yet again. He decided to take a walk in the middle of the show and while he was walking down the road he spotted a man wearing a dark velvet cloak. Jiminy reached out his hand as he was walking past the man to snatch the coins from his pocket and felt the man's hand seize his wrist.

"A bit careless there, weren't you dearie?" he giggled.

Jiminy felt his heart come up his throat when he heard that giggle and only one creature in all the lands addressed everyone by "dearie" whether he was insulting them or not. The Dark One.

"I…It was an accident….I didn't know…" he stammered. What would the Dark One do to him? Would he turn him into a snail and crush him under his boot as the young thief heard he did so to others who crossed him? Running was useless, the Dark One would find him wherever he hid but at that moment he thought the miserable life he had with his parents was far better than being dead. "I…did…I didn't take anything."

"Ah, but you planned to only you allowed yourself to be distracted by those crickets you were listening to long enough to get caught." Rumple pointed out, shaking a finger at the young man. "Your parents are going to be a bit upset with you that you weren't able to take a grand bounty from this fine gentleman."

"If you're going to kill me, kill me…" Jiminy said bravely, not wanting the torture to last any longer.

The Dark One frowned. "Oh dearie, the tales you must have been told about me! Not all true of course. People have tendency to rewrite history to make themselves look better than others. There are only certain instances in which I have had to do what was needed but not in this case. No, the fates have brought us together for a reason my boy and I have a need for a man of your skill."

"You want me….to steal something? You're the Dark One. Aren't you able to get it yourself?" Jiminy inquired nervously.

"I could, but I have a pressing engagement this evening and the people I need you to obtain these items from have children who would enjoy your parents' show. That should give you enough time to complete your task. You will be paid when the job is done and the items are in my hands but be careful dearie. The contents are not meant for you…or anyone else…in this land."

"What are you sending me for?" Jiminy asked. "I've never stolen anything but coins before."

"Yes but haven't you learned from your…ahhh… experience that people tend to keep their other valuables in the same places they keep their coins?"

"Sometimes," he confessed.

"Then by all means…help yourself to a few trinkets if you so desire. They won't miss them."

"No….I don't need any of that."

"That's your choice. Just bring me back the items I require and the names I will send you and you'll be rewarded."

"Why would you need the names…?"

Rumple held up his hand to silence the young thief. "Ah, don't concern yourself with that, dearie. Just bring back what I need," he insisted. "And please do try to avoid being distracted and getting caught again."

Jiminy sighed deeply. He knew he had no other choice than to do as the Dark One asked. Being stuck in that wagon year after year was paradise compared to what the Dark One could do to him. Still, Jiminy sensed there was some truth to the creature's words that stories about him had been exaggerated to some degree. He raced back to the wagon to talk to his parents about a sudden 'idea' he had. Myrna and Martin were pleased, thinking they'd finally gotten through to the boy. Early the next morning a dove flew out to where the family parked their wagon with further instructions for Jiminy written on a piece of parchment along with a map showing the location of the castle. He rolled it up and tucked it into his pocket. He would explore the castle while the family was distracted with the puppet show and he carried the umbrella the boy had given him, believing it now to be his good luck charm. He wasn't carrying it the previous evening when the Dark One caught him but he would never leave the wagon without it again.

The castle belonged to a former knight in the king's army, a famed dragonslayer who kept parts of the beasts as trophies, including two vials of blood, taken from a dragon and his mate. The male dragon's blood was blue, the female's red. These were the items the Dark One wanted Jiminy to obtain for him. When the wagon approached the gates of the castle the guards refused them entrance.

"The lord's children will be missing out on a wonderful show," Jiminy said smoothly, the bile rising in his throat with every untrue word he spoke. His parents beamed with pride.

The lord approached the gate. "What seems to be the trouble here?"

"These people want to put on a show with puppets," one of the guards said coldly. "Shall I ask them to leave, my lord?"

"No, let them in. The children will enjoy the show."

Myrna smirked at her husband. "You heard the man. Set it up, son."

While he was getting everything ready, the lord's two children came out into the garden to watch him at work, asking him questions as the boy did only he wouldn't admit to them he wanted to do something else with his life besides running cons and stealing otherwise they'd all end up in prison.

The castle was so well guarded that he feared completing his task would be impossible until he realized they all had two major weaknesses, a fondness for the ale and wenching. It made him cringe. He knew Aggie would be disappointed if she saw him now, ten years later and still running cons and stealing with his parents and he could hear the same foul sounds Agatha made that night when she tricked his father and what the men were doing was even more appalling as he crept past them in the halls of the castle until he located the room on Rumplestiltskin's map. The sorcerer had also given him a key that could unlock any door that he used on the heavy wooden doors that led to the knight's trophy room. Mounted on the walls were the heads of various animals including two dragons; one blue, one red as well as parts of their feet, large metal bands on them with intricate designs. Archie knew from reading the few books he was allowed that the bands marked the dragons as mates.

This wasn't how they wanted to spend the afterlife, he thought angrily. Though many of the dragons in their world were destructive, there were also some species that just wanted to live in peace as well as other animals but all of them were hunted for sport or driven from their homes in the forests to build castles and fortresses for the nobles. His parents laughed him when he spoke of this to them.

"That's your problem, Jiminy. You care too much about everything even when it's of no benefit to you," his mother said. "Not gonna get anywhere with that kind of attitude and if you have any brains in that head of yours, you'll snap out of it."

He located the cabinet storing the knight's valuables and saw two bottles in it along with some coins. Inside the bottles were liquids, one blue, one red. He picked up the bottles carefully, remembering the Dark One's warning that the contents were not meant for him and put them in his bag. The guards were still passed out or entertaining themselves with the servant girls when Archie returned to the main hall. His parents were packing everything up and thanking the former knight for his hospitality. Later that night he snuck back to the Dark Castle while his parents slept. He found the sorcerer in his lab sitting at his famed spinning wheel. Jiminy set the bag down on the table.

"Thank you very much. And the names? To whom did these treasures belong?" Jiminy took the scroll out of his pocket and set it on top of the bag.

"Gold thread, for your thievery." Rumple tossed him a piece of thread he finished spinning. "Thank you, you can go."

As Jiminy started to walk away Rumple sensed there was something else the boy wanted.

"But you want something else, don't you? Something with… magic?" He poured liquid from one of his bottles onto another string of gold, creating a transformation potion.

"Every year, I'm stuck in that damn wagon. I wanna be free. I wanna be someone else. But something keeps holding me back," Jiminy confessed.

"Something or someone?"

"It's my parents."

Then I have exactly what you need." He handed Jiminy the transformation potion. "This will set you free. Pour it, sprinkle it, put it in their curds and whey. Anything will work."

Jiminy reached out to take the potion. Rumple pulled it back and smiled.

"Ah! But you have nothing more to give to me. Tell you what-after the potion has… done its work, leave them where they are and I'll come collect them. It'll be my fee!" he giggled.

"What will become of them?" Jiminy asked worriedly, wanting nothing drastic to happen to them.

"Worry you not, they'll be in safe hands. And you'll be free."

In the back of his mind he wondered whether he was doing the right thing.

"…Look, can't we skip this tonight? We don't need the money!" Jiminy pleaded with his parents as they stood outside a small cottage a week later.

"Everything isn't about money, Jiminy. It's about the principle," his mother said.

Martin waved his hand, bringing out the bottle of their 'elf tonic'. It was their favorite con and one that had gotten them run out of quite a few villages across the realms. "A commitment to excellence."

"Excellence… at stealing money," Myrna added.

"Now and take the "elf tonic", Jiminy," his father instructed.

He would have sooner taken the initiative and gotten then hell out of there. His instincts were telling him that something was going to go terribly wrong that night yet he knew what his parents would do if he disobeyed. His parents were laughing as he took the bottle from his father.

"Oh! Such beautiful young people," Myrna exclaimed when a young couple opened the door to them. Jiminy felt his father kick his boot.

"Pardon me. Do you have a place at your hearth for an honest man and his….elderly parents?" he asked, feeling the bile rise in his throat every time he had to go along with his parent's schemes. It was a speech he gave in many villages and those who opened their doors to him were taken in by his kind face and soft voice, both his blessing and his curse.

"Of course," the man said. "Come in."

"I'll heat up some broth," his wife offered.

"Oh, we love broth," Myrna said excitedly, she and her husband praising the young couple's home. Their names were Donna and Stephen.

Donna heated up some broth and handed it to Jiminy, the rainwater that his parents called their 'elf tonic' feeling like a rock in his pocket that would sink him in the deepest ocean of regret.

"Thank you for your kindness," Jiminy said politely.

"I just can't get it out of my mind, that family," Myrna began and Jiminy felt his heart sink. They were bound and determined to see their scheme through until the end.

"Terrible way to go."

"What? What happened?" Donna asked worriedly.

"Plague," Myrna answered knowing no other word struck terror in the hearts of simple villagers than 'plague'. "The next town over, we just passed through. "

"The plague?!"

"Well, a plague, certainly."

"Is it coming here? Are you okay?' Stephen inquired, a bit concerned himself since they had a son.

Jiminy could only watch with disgust as his parents played the game, claiming their little miracle cure would prevent the couple from getting the plague, insisting they only had a small bottle that they needed for themselves, Martin giving Jiminy a kick under the table when he wanted the boy to play his part. They managed to swindle the couple out of a few coins and some of their food. Jiminy walked out of the house after handing them the bottle, feeling like he was going to vomit.

"Hey, those are good people. They would never hurt us like that," he protested.

"That's where they went wrong," his mother insisted.

"It's better to be the kind of people that take," his father reminded him.

"Instead of those that get taken from."

Not me, Mama. Not anymore.

"I'm sorry. You've given me no other choice." Jiminy took the bottle out of his pocket and threw it on them.

"How frail do you think we are, son?" Myrna laughed.

"Rainwater won't hurt us," Martin added.

Oh no. NO! Jiminy thought, glancing down at the bottle. They were identical, easily switched.

"I'm pretty good at a sleight of hand, Jiminy, or have you forgotten that?" his father taunted.

"You switched them? So this is the elf tonic?" He was in a panic.

"Oh my! We must have given whatever you had to that family." Martin said with a hint of amusement.

"Oh, hope it wasn't dangerous," Myrna laughed.

Jiminy ran back into the house and found the bottle he'd gotten from the Dark One on the floor. The couple was no longer there, instead two wooden puppets dressed in their clothing sat on the bed when he looked behind the door.

"Oh gods!" he cried. "What have I done!" he sank into the chair.

"What is that boy blubbering about now," Martin grumbled. Myrna followed him into the house.

"Ohh, look at that," Martin said, amused.

"New puppets for the act," Myrna added with a smirk.

Damn you both! Jiminy thought angrily. It wasn't meant for them. It was meant for YOU!

He was even more horrified when he saw the boy who had given him his umbrella walk into the house.

His PARENTS! Oh gods….

"Who are you?" the boy asked Martin and Myrna. Jiminy shook his head, regretting every stepping foot in the Dark Castle, regretting taking that potion.

"Papa? Mama? Papa! What did you do to them? What did you do to them?" the little boy named Geppetto demanded of Jiminy.

"I didn't mean to…it was an accident!" he sobbed.

"You KILLED them!" screamed the little boy.

"Let's get the hell outta here!" Myrna yelled. "Jiminy…move your ass boy!"

"You killed my mama and papa…" Geppetto sobbed and ran over to him, striking him with his fists. "I hate you. I HATE YOU!"

"I didn't want to hurt anyone," Jiminy moaned.

"Awww…dammit, quit your blubbering and MOVE!" Martin hollered, pulling Jiminy to his feet and dragging him out of the cottage. He could still hear the child screaming as they sped off in the wagon.

"Stop the wagon!" Jimmy yelled when they were some distance away from the cottage, the noise spooking the horse. He jumped off and started walking down the road.

"Where do you think you're going? Get back here!" Myrna demanded.

"Go to hell! I'm not doing this anymore. I quit!" Jiminy threw over his shoulder. "I'm tired of lying, I'm tired of stealing and I'm tired of YOU! I want to live my own life! I want to be free!"

Martin pulled up beside him. "You're not going anywhere, boy. And if you try, we'll just go to the magistrate and tell him what you did to that poor boy's parents…and what you tried to do to us. You won't be free in a cell or at the end of a rope, now will you? It's time you faced it. This is what you are, like us, and this is what you're always going to be. Now get back in the wagon and I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense!"

His head bowed, Jiminy climbed back into the carriage.

Later that night after they made camp, Jiminy got out of the wagon and went outside.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone," he wept. "I just wanted to live my own life." He glanced up at the sky, smiling when he saw a bright blue star glowing. He remembered hearing tales that if you wished on a star, a fairy would hear you and make it come true.

"I wish…." he said softly and sat down on the fence, closing his eyes. "I wish…" I wish I could take it all back….I wish that little boy had his parents back…

"I hear your wish, you don't need to wish it so loudly," Blue said gently as she appeared before him. He smiled. "But it is not possible. I cannot bring back the boy's parents."

"It's my fault. I have to make it right. I… I will trade my life to make it happen."

"What's done is done. There may be another way."

"Tell me please," he pleaded.

"The little boy, he will grow up to face many challenges. Do you want to help him?"

"Ummm, I can't get away from these people, my parents, they're who I am."

"But if you didn't want to be that, what would you like to be?"

And in the silence, Jiminy heard the sound that always brought him comfort, the chirping of crickets.

I wish to be like them….the crickets.

"I hear your wish." She waved her wand and he was transformed into a cricket wearing a brown coat and carrying his trusty umbrella. He started to laugh, feeling free for the first time in his life.

"How do you feel?"

"Free," he chirped.

"Find the boy, Jiminy. You will live as many years as you need to help him. Just find him."

"How will I? I don't even know his name."

"His name is Geppetto."

Raising a child as a cricket was not an easy task yet Jiminy was doing his best with it making a living carrying messages from the nobles of the realms and it was not long before he became known as the most reliable one in the Enchanted Forest. One afternoon he and Geppetto were travelling through the forest to deliver a message to King Hubert's court when he encountered another cricket wearing the garments of the King's guards taking a rest one one of the rocks.

"I am Jiminy. I have a message for your king," he said.

"Hello Jiminy. I'm Jasper. I...I'm your brother," the other cricket replied in his voice.

"Your brother is a cricket too?" Geppetto asked.

"Yes...but I don't understand why."

"We're twins Jiminy. What affects you affects me according to the Blue Fairy. This isn't how I wanted us to meet but it will have to do."

"I am so sorry. I...I didn't know but I've wanted to meet you..."

"As I've wanted to meet you."

From that day on, the trio traveled together, delivering their messages to the kingdoms of the realm until Geppetto eventually married and began working as a carpenter and Jasper was recalled to King Hubert's court while Jiminy was given a place as a royal advisor in the court of Princess Snow White. The two continued to meet as they passed their messages through the realms and the bond between the brothers that had been severed at birth was reforged.

"His Majesty is dying and Prince Phillip is concerned about the threats he faces from Queen Regina and Maleficent." Jasper revealed to his brother at one of their meetings.

"Queen Regina's curse threatens all of us, brother but what is the threat you face from Maleficent?"

"A second curse, the same one that was given to Snow and Queen Leah. The sleeping curse. Phillip believes Maleficent will use it on Aurora and her daughter Rose."

"I am not surprised. Maleficent feels her mother stole Stefan from her but he wanted nothing to do with her."

"I will go to the Dark One."

"Oh Jasper, why? Trifiling with dark magic is the reason we're like this!"

"I must protect Rose! Phillip and Aurora have trusted me with her safety from the day she was born and I will not let her fall victim to that witch's malice. Whatever price the Dark One wants, I will pay it!"

"You may regret it my brother," Jiminy said sadly.

"I will do what I must to protect those I care for as will you."

"Her Highness Princess Snow is expecting as well."

"Once the Queen hears of this she will cast her curse," Jasper predicted.

"And we will all lose those we love."

"I will not let Rose go to the land without magic alone! I will find a way to stop it." Jasper said angrily and flew away. Jiminy sighed, fearing his brother's deal with the Dark One would come to no good as he had all those years ago.

"I have to be with my boy!" Geppetto shouted at his friend.

"You know only the Savior can go through the wardrobe now thanks to your meddling," Jiminy retorted.

"There has to be another way!"

"Geppetto, there is no other way than the curse…"

"I am not going to be a part of that curse. I will find a way with or without your help!"

"All right…we'll keep looking."

"There is another way…if you are interested," a woman said from the window. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. May I come in?"

"Of course,' Geppetto said.

"Jiminy Cricket, advisor to Their Highnesses. Your reputation precedes you."

"You have me at a disadvantage my lady. Have we met?"

"No…but I have heard of you. My name is Adora Cain. I've recently arrived here from Oz." She reached into her satchel and took out a travel storm token. "This is what you need. This token will create a storm that will allow you to travel between worlds, a storm like the one that brought our great Queen Dorothy Gale from this land without magic to Oz centuries ago."

Geppetto eyed her suspiciously. "Why would YOU, a stranger want to help us?"

"I know the pain of being parted from one I love too well and do not wish it on anyone else. Take this coin into an open field and toss it. Once the cyclone forms walk into it and think of where you wish to go. It will take you there."

"Can it take others?" Jiminy asked hopefully.

Adora shook her head. "The token will only work for those it is given to. "The Savior must travel to the other side through the wardrobe that was created for her. And you can never speak of this gift I have given you or it will disappear," she cautioned.

"Jiminy…I can find my boy!" Geppetto wept joyfully.

She set the coin down on the table. "Perhaps we'll see each other again very soon. May the goddess protect both of you."

"I don't know about this Geppetto…the last time I dabbled in magic…"

"I'm sorry about our argument earlier."

"No, you never should've lost your parents. I should have walked away from mine years ago."

"Jiminy, please promise me we'll try to use this. I can't bear being parted from my boy!"

"Maybe we should speak to Blue about it."

"No! You heard what that woman said if we…look! The coin! It's fading! No! No! We won't tell anyone, we promise!" Geppetto cried fearfully. He scooped up the coin and tucked it into his shirt pocket. "Jiminy, promise me you won't say anything to Blue! I have to find my boy!"

"All right. We'll say nothing. But I still want to talk to Blue about the wardrobe. I can't bear the thought of the Savior and Pinocchio in that world alone."

"I'm afraid I spoke the truth Jiminy. The wardrobe can only take two….and one has already gone through. There's no way to alter the spell. Only one of the Ozian guardians has that ability, the West Guardian." Blue explained when they summoned her the following morning.

"Who are these Ozian guardians. How do we find them?"

"Only Ozmalita, the sister of Lurline herself would know the answer."

"Will she help us?" Geppetto asked. "Had I not been so selfish…."

"You were only trying to give your son his best chance," Jiminy soothed. "Is there a way we can summon this Ozmalita?"

"The Rhuel Ghorm summons thee

Ozmalita Diosa appear now before me!" Blue chanted. The trio waited for several minutes, their hearts sinking. Seconds later a cloud of silver smoke appeared in the room, Geppetto and Jiminy unaware that the woman they knew as Adora Cain had been Ozmalita in her human form.

"It has been a long time Galaluna," Adora said softly, addressing the fae by the name given her at birth. Blue kneeled at the other woman's feet.

"Mistress I seek your guidance. The Evil Queen's curse threatens all in this realm and there is only one who can break her spell. We are forced to send her to the land without magic…alone."

"It was my fault….I sent my son through first…" Geppetto confessed.

"And the Savior will be the second to cross through. Alone. That is the will of Lurline. The life she leads on the Other Side will prepare her for the battles to come, the breaking of the Dark Curse, the preservation of the Strogoff bloodline and preparation for the Final Eclipse."

Blue gasped. "Then the prophecy…"

"…will come to pass, unless the proper order is restored and the Strogoff and Ozopov are united with their bondmates. Events must unfold as Lurline wills it Galaluna or a terrible price will be paid."

Geppetto sat at his workbench and buried his face in his hands. "Losing my boy….is this my price to pay…?"

"Your son will play a pivotal role in shaping the Savior's destiny and that of the strongest of the Guardians: the ones who stand at the East and West Gates, the keepers of the staff that summon the winds of change and the blade forged from the fires of a troubled past. He will have one advantage you will not; his memory unaffected by the curse. You will see him again Geppetto but you must be patient."

"We can't summon the guardians ourselves?" Jiminy asked her. She shook her head.

"One of them is held in the grip of Alemedia herself."

"The Dark One!? But that is impossible! Rumplestiltskin CANNOT be a guardian!" Blue protested.

"Rumplestiltskin and his son Baelfire are the last of the Strogoff bloodline, Galaluna. And the Savior will bear the child that will one day stand at the East Gate. That child must be protected for one day he will be the most powerful of all the Guardians."

"But…we'll be cursed, we won't know…" Jiminy stammered.

"The truth will be revealed at the proper time." And you will be the one to speak it, she thought. "What you have learned, you must keep to yourselves. Alemedia has been plotting to destroy the Guardians. Rumplestiltskin is no great threat as long as his soul is held tight in her grip. Once he is reunited with his son, his grandchild and his bondmate it will restore his humanity and weaken her control."

"There are four guardians. What about the other two?" Jiminy inquired.

"The Ozopov," Blue murmured. "Queen Lavinia and her daughter, Azkadellia. The second eclipse. It's about them, isn't it?"

"The majestic queen of the OZ

Had two lovely daughters she

One to darkness she be drawn

One to light she be shown

Double eclipse it is forseen

Light meets dark in the stillness between

But only one and one alone

Shall hold the emerald and take the throne…" Adora recited.

"What does that mean?" Geppetto demanded impatiently.

"It means that the Ozopov heirs will battle each other as they have for centuries," Blue replied. "Lurline's heirs, the Strogoff and Ozopov have been cursed to fight each other until their bloodline dies out."

"Cursed by whom?" Jiminy wondered aloud.

"A goddess on the other side named Demeter. Lurline and Alemedia are the children of her daughter Persephone to the god of the Underworld, Hades. Demeter did not want her daughter to be with Hades, limiting her to spending six months of the year with him but they came to this side, created our world as their paradise and Demeter cursed the children Persephone carried as punishment for their defiance. And since that day, their descendants have been at war with each other and the war will continue…unless the cycle is broken. That is what their bondmates must help them do. By anchoring them to their humanity. That is all you need know for now. As I've said, the truth will be revealed to you again at the proper time." The angel vanished.

"What is this prophecy she spoke of Blue?" Jiminy demanded.

"One so horrible that Aramon himself was stripped of his powers and banished to the Realm of the Forgotten for even speaking it," Blue answered, her own face pale. "And those who know of it quake in fear at the mere mention of it."

"What is it! Does it threaten my son?" Geppetto cried fearfully.

"He…will be safe…where he is….as will we…if the Queen casts her curse."

"Blue please, tell us," Jiminy pleaded.

"If the Strogoff and Ozopov heirs cannot break their curses and restore the balance between darkness and light before the final eclipse in Oz….the realms will fall."

"F…Fall…you mean…"

"This world, our world…will be destroyed!" she sobbed. "Those left behind will perish…and those who escaped will see it happen, will feel their pain as our price for survival…and we will be trapped in the Land Without Magic forever."

"What we do now could prevent it?"

"We can only hope Jiminy." She waved her wand and vanished.

"I'm so sorry," Jiminy said again flying onto Geppetto's shoulders.

"We're using the token," he said firmly.

"We don't know if it will work!"

"I have to see my boy. You heard the Blue Fairy. The wardrobe will only take one. If we go we have a chance of finding the Savior and helping my boy get her ready for what she needs to do! It's what her parents would want! You know this Jiminy."

He only wished it were so.

Later that evening Jiminy dictated a brief message to his friend using the gramophone that he always used in the council meetings to translate his cricket language to English and took flight, his destination the court of Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora. Once he arrived, the news his brother had to give him was less than encouraging.

"You've seen the Dark One, haven't you Jasper."

"I have. Things are much worse than we've feared. Maleficent has taken Phillip and placed Aurora under the sleeping curse. But worse still, the Dark One has informed me that Maleficent has cursed Rose as well and her female descendants. I have made my decision. I will take Rose to the Land Without Magic before this dreaded Dark Curse is cast and return her to her parents once it is broken." The cricket sighed. "My conversation with the Dark One was odd to say the least."

"Why?"

"He mentioned you."

"What did he say? Leave nothing out Jasper."

"He said that neither of us can escape our destiny Jiminy. I thought perhaps he'd been drinking too much ale and was talking in riddles as he's known to do and the day the curse strikes we will be be taken down the paths that will lead us to them."

"What does that mean?"

"I wish I knew. He said you will do your own battle against the darkness and I will see what horrors darkness leaves behind. As I said...it must've been the ale."

"Then we are to be separated again. The Dark One sees no other remedy?"

"Not from what I understood."

"Then spend what time you have left with me. You and Rose."

"We will," Jasper vowed.

Deep in the forest an anxious Jiminy and Jasper watched the curse cloud approaching, Geppetto fingering the token in his pocket. The cloud would soon be upon them and there wasn't a moment to spare.

"I don't wanna go!" Princess Rose sobbed. "Sir Jasper, I wanna go back to Mama!"

"We can't," he said sadly. They attempted to return to the place the day before only to find it warded against intruders by magic, Maleficent's magic Jasper supposed.

"Toss the coin Geppetto! Now!" Jiminy cried. "We haven't a moment to lose!"

"Stay close Rose," Jasper pleaded. Geppetto tossed the coin onto the ground and seconds later a large funnel cloud formed, circling toward them. Geppetto took Princess Rose's hand and held it tightly.

"I'm scared..." the princess wept.

"I'll be all right Rose. We'll be with you," Jasper soothed and leaped onto her shoulder while Jiminy leaped onto Geppetto's.

"We will find Pinocchio my friend. Believe," Jiminy said as they approached the funnel cloud. The winds began to pick up and Jiminy and Jasper were pulled off Rose and Geppetto's shoulders.

"Jasper!" Rose sobbed and reached out to grab him.

"Jiminy!"

"No! Geppetto...Rose...Jasper!" Jiminy cried as he felt himself being pulled into the funnel cloud while his companions were thrown into the path of oncoming curse cloud. He was hurled to and fro through the cloud, his cricket form changing back into that of a human. The cloud disintegrated and he crashed to the ground naked and unconscious.

Oz (The Outer Zone)

The Temple of Lurline

Twenty-eight years before the breaking of the Dark Curse

Twenty-eight years prior to the Double Eclipse

Alana Kantrine, the High Priestess of the Sons and Daughters of Light awoke from her slumber and glanced out her window to see a large funnel cloud appear on the brick road just outside the front gates of the Temple of Lurline. She rose and walked down the hallway to the quarters where her most loyal guards, Callux and Medira Benu were in residence with their son Ambrose and young daughter Xenia.

"Callux, Medira, the Heart of the North has arrived. Bring him to me," she commanded softly.

"Yes Mistress," they said in unison. "Ambrose! Fetch our horses!"

The young man jumped out of his chair and raced out to the stables, bringing three black stallions to the front doors of the temple. They rode out to the front gate and a few feet away a man lay on the grass without a stitch of clothing on his tall frame and several distinct markings on his skin.

"Is it really him Papa?" Ambrose asked. "Is that Princess Azkadellia's bondmate?"

"It is son." Callux replied. "He will begin training to become a Guardian." Callux pointed to his lower back. "Look here….the cricket. That is his personal symbol. A cricket represents the element Earth. The princess will be marked with this symbol once their bond is completed. Come, let's get him back to the temple. Our mistress will need to tend to him."

They lifted the unconscious man onto a litter and carried him back to the temple. The priestesses dressed their guest and tended to his wounds while Alana kept vigil at his bedside. Moments later a puff of green smoke appeared in the room revealing two men, a short, silver haired sorcerer in his late fifties named Jeb Mysticos Strogoff and a tall blond haired man in his early twenties named Wyatt Cain. Wyatt was a Tin Man, the name given to the officers of the law in the OZ and had been recently appointed to serve on Mysticos's protection detail.

"Who is that?" the Tin Man demanded gruffly.

"This, my boy, is Jiminy, the bondmate of our princess," Jeb explained.

"He doesn't look like one...kinda lanky." Wyatt observed. "And a lot older."

"He will become the second most powerful mage in the OZ," Mysticos declared. They heard the man on the bed groan and his eyes fluttered open.

"W...Where...where am I?" he asked groggily.

"You are safe in the OZ."

"O...Oz? No! No, that's not possible! I was supposed to go to the Land Without Magic, not Oz!"

"No my boy. Your destiny is here in the OZ."

"Send me back! I have to go back. My friends...my brother...they need me!" Jiminy attempted to get out of bed but found he was too weak to stand.

"You have a concussion and must rest," Alana said firmly. "I'm afraid we cannot send you to the Other Side now but you will go there in time. It is the will of the goddess."

"I don't care what the will of the goddess is! I must go to the Land Without Magic! Now let me go!" he snarled.

The glass of water that had been placed beside his bed flew off the stand and shattered against the wall.

"Jiminy, you must calm yourself my boy. Your magic is reacting to your emotions," Mysticos advised gently.

"Magic! Are you mad? I have no magic!"

"Your magic was bound at birth and set to unlock upon your arrival here."

Jiminy glared at all of them, his blue eyes taking on a menacing green tinge. "Are you saying that I was deceived, that the travel storm token I was given was meant only for me?"

"Yes," Alana replied. "It was..."

"ENOUGH ABOUT THE WILL OF THE GODDESS!" he roared. "What of my will? Do I have any of my own or is my life planned out for me?"

"You are a Guardian," Alana declared.

"I...I am a Guardian like Rumplestiltskin? That's not possible!" Jiminy exclaimed.

"How do you know the Dark One's true identity?" Alana inquired.

"I was told. By Ozmalita Diosa." Jiminy scowled. "I'm assuming SHE is the one who sent me here."

"You are the chosen Guardian of Princess Azkadellia Ozopov. She stands at the North Gate and is the Keeper of the Emerald of Earth," Mysticos explained. "You were chosen because yours is one of the purest hearts in all the realms."

"Why wasn't my brother chosen?"

"It was not his destiny. It was yours. However, he possesses skills that you have inherited through your restored fraternal bond. I will train you how to master those skills as well as your magic. I'm afraid the mental link you shared will be severed as long as he is under the Dark Curse."

"Where is he and my friends?"

"Your friend Geppetto is in a place on the other side called Storybrooke. Your brother is in a place called San Francisco. The girl...was sent to a place called Bellefonte."

"So it separated them," Jiminy said sadly. "The children...they'll be alone! Please! I must go to them."

"You cannot. The future of the realms depends on you staying where you are for now."

"Or the realms fall? Is that what you mean?" Everyone in the room cringed. "Ah, so it is." He sighed. "Then I will do my best...as the goddess wills."

"We will leave for Central City once you are well," Mysticos informed him.

Jiminy lay back against the pillows wondering how the others were faring in the new land, cursed and torn apart by a vengeful queen. Once he was asleep the others closed the door to the chamber and returned to Alana's quarters.

"Has the construct been put into place?" Alana inquired of Mysticos. He waved his hand over the mirror in her bedroom and the image of a small town appeared in the glass.

"He has...and the queen will be none the wiser nor will anyone else. It will be lifelike in every way and Jiminy will have access to its memories until the time comes when he arrives to take its place. It will appear as if he's been in the town the entire time."

Storybrooke, Maine

Fall 1983

"I did it. I won!" The Evil Queen declared gleefully when she awoke that morning in the new land that she had chosen to call Storybrooke. She dressed in the new clothing that now hung in her closet and went outside, taking in the sights of her new kingdom. There were no palaces but it mattered little. She'd taken away all their happy endings and now it was time for her to savor her own.

"Morning Madam Mayor!" she heard a voice greet softly.

"Good morning, Crick—Dr. Hopper," she corrected herself, recalling that she'd given the former cricket the name Archibald Hopper and the memories of being a psychiatrist in the town but he like everyone else in the town would be at her command when she needed him.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it is," Regina said with a smile and walked on. Victory had never tasted so sweet only she wasn't aware that her curse was short a victim and would be for some time.


	2. My Word Is My Bond

As I stumble on this journey

Along the road to what is real

I'm not made of steel

I'm not made of steel

With all the lessons of my learning

And the strength that I possess

Still there are mountains I wish I was moving

That take much more than my best

Michael Bolton – I'm Not Made of Steel (Jiminy/Archie's Theme)

OZ (The Outer Zone)

Twenty-Eight years prior to the end of the Dark Curse

Twenty-eight years prior to the Final Eclipse

A coach carrying Jiminy, Jeb Mysticos and Wyatt Cain departed from the Temple of Lurline a week later for Central City, the Ozian capital. During the ride Jeb entertained their new arrival by giving him a more detailed history of his new home than he'd been able to glean from the books in Princess Snow's library and view his construct's life on the other side through a seeing globe.

"How do you know so much about this land without magic when we didn't?"

Jeb smiled. "The Princess Lavinia's husband Ahamo is an Othersider as was my ancestor, Alexander Mysticos and coincidently or not, they both arrived here the same way but at different points in time."

Jeb went on to describe his ancestor's arrival in the OZ over five hundred years earlier via a travel storm that had merged with a tornado that ravaged the Kansas prairie where he was barely making a living as an amateur magician and psychic or rather, posing as one.

"My ancestor did have magic, he just didn't know how to use it. People on the other side fear magic rather than embrace it." Jeb waved his hand over the seeing globe again showing a group of men and women tied to stakes and set ablaze. "While there are some witches and warlocks who use their magic for evil, there are more of us who serve the light, yet we are hunted down and murdered as much as our dark counterparts. What you are seeing is just one of many witch burnings that have taken place throughout the centuries on the other side. Time moves differently there. My ancestor came to this side in the year 1840 in his time but in our time a bloody civil war was being fought between the royal houses of Strogoff and Ozopov."

"The Strogoff were the original rulers of the OZ until this time?"

"Yes. But their Ozopov cousins murdered them and seized power."

"It's the curse, isn't it? The goddess Demeter's curse."

"Yes. And so, it has been for centuries. The two families will be at war with each other until their line dies out unless they find a way to break the curse. Alexandra Ozopov is our current queen, but she is in ill health and has named her daughter Lavinia her successor..."

"…and the princess has just given birth to a child. The child I've been brought here to serve and protect," Jiminy finished.

"Princess Azkadellia Andromeda Ozopov," Jeb confirmed.

"But you're a Strogoff with a claim to the throne."

"Through Glinda Strogoff and Alexander Mysticos, yes. Rumplestiltskin's mother is their daughter Lilliana. I descend from their third child, a son named Grigory who went into hiding when Lilliana's twin Zorinda became the first Dark One. The surviving Ozopov child also went into hiding until Zorinda was defeated."

"By Zozo, the Dark One Rumplestiltskin succeeded?"

"Yes. We've made a truce with each other because our greatest threat can only be defeated by working together. We must prevent Aramon's prophecy from coming to pass. YOU must prevent Aramon's prophecy from coming to pass. You must correct the mistake that was made in the past."

"Kinda layin it on thick, ain't ya, Jeb?" Wyatt chuckled.

"He has to know what he's up against," Jeb defended and continued his story. "Twenty years after Alexander arrived another travel storm brought the woman that would become our realm's greatest queen…Dorothia Gale."

Jiminy was fascinated with the tale of a young girl barely twelve annuals old that blew in on a storm and defeated the dark witch Nessarose by dropping a cottage on her and killing her dark twin Bastinda by throwing water on her.

"Do witches die by being doused with water? That sounds too easy to me."

"Because it was too easy," Wyatt spoke up. "She didn't die, just tricked the kid into thinkin she was dead. She took the OZ back the minute the girl used the silver slippers to go back home and started eliminating everyone who was a threat to her."

"Except for the Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Man. They found a way to get Dorothy to return and help them defeat her again," Jeb said. "With this. The Book of the Ancients, the most sacred text in all the realms. This book contains the complete genealogies of the gods and goddesses in every pantheon in the cosmos as well as the most powerful spells only a mage from those bloodlines should use. It was through this text that they learned Dorothia was one of the Guardians of the Balance along with Alexander Mysticos, Glinda, and Nick Chopper, the first Tin Man. They represent the four points on the compass and the four elements. Stop here," he commanded the driver.

"Good. Need to stretch my legs anyway!" Wyatt exclaimed and got out.

"Where are we?"

"About halfway to Central City," the younger officer replied and went for a short walk.

Jeb picked up a stick and drew a circle in the ground with four arrows labeled N, S, E, W. He moved Jiminy into the direction pointing north.

"This is the North Gate, the Earth Gate, where you and Azkadellia will stand. Her symbol is one of the two emeralds created by the goddess Lurline where all the magic of the OZ is tethered to."

He lifted up Jiminy's tunic and conjured a small mirror that he held up for the younger man to see the cricket tattoo on his lower back. "Your symbol is the cricket because it is the form you chose for your enchantment."

"I changed back though."

"Yes, but you can take your cricket form anytime you wish now that your powers have been unlocked. I will teach you how to master shapeshifting along with your other abilities."

"Could I have reversed the enchantment on Geppetto's parents?"

"No. Only Alemedia could do that since it was her dark magic that created the potion. They would not survive the transformation now if it were reversed."

"I wish I could see Geppetto and my brother and Rose."

"You will. When the time is right. Come. We still have a long ride ahead of us and there is much to learn."

Once they got back in the coach Jeb continued his tale of the first Dorothy and the battle of the First Eclipse. "Dorothia returned and she, Glinda, Alexander and Nicolai trapped Bastinda in Ephesis, the Ozian Hell Realm but the lock on their prison is weakening because it was not created with proper order of Guardians."

"Wait…you said the first Tin Man was one of the Guardians. Why wasn't he there?"

"He was dead," Jeb said sadly. "Nessarose enchanted his woodcutter's axe to cut off his human body parts, forcing him to replace them with tin. It was an enchantment that could've been broken by the woman chosen to be his bondmate, Dorothia."

"She was a child when they first met, and everyone expected them to become lovers twenty years later? That seems highly…inappropriate."

"Ah but feelings change over time, my boy and Dorothia returned a very beautiful and intelligent woman. The Tin Man was able to look past the child he knew and find the woman he could love but sadly, Dorothia could not look past the tin and see the man. Nick Chopper died a slow and painful death, left himself out in the rain to rust. But on his death bed he asked to have his remains melted down into two weapons to be used to protect Dorothia; a sword and a pistol. When she was killed those weapons were given to my family for safekeeping."

"Were Glinda and Alexander bondmates?"

"Yes. What was once the circle of Four must now become the circle of Eight. Only two of the Four primary Guardians have been born. The other two will be born later."

"I was told Princess Snow's daughter Emma will give birth to the Strogoff heir."

"And she will, as Princess Lavinia will give birth to the second Ozopov heir. The remaining four represent the fifth element, spirit. They will have powers equal to the Guardians they are chosen for."

"Am I…am I…Azkadellia's bondmate?" Jiminy asked nervously.

"Not all Guardians are bondmates, Jiminy. Rumplestiltskin's is. Her name is Belle Lavalliere." He glanced over at his bodyguard. The Tin Man was dozing in his seat. "The Southern Guardian will also have a bondmate."

"So I won't be one?"

"Whether you are or are not is the will of the OZ," Jeb said. "And the will of the OZ must be obeyed. Never forget that Jiminy but if you ever are tempted to do so, remember this warning...

The punishment is severe for defying the will of the OZ

A heart bond of our choosing is one that is meant for eternity

Should this bond be broken by human device Everything it holds most dear it will be made to sacrifice

The rivers of its memory will flow with the image of spilled blood

Until the dams burst and they become a raging flood

If one day the lost half of its heart returns to reclaim

The one who has forgotten it, through love shall it be relieved from its pain."

"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?"

"Too many have paid the price already," Jeb muttered, hoping this new apprentice of his had more common sense.

They reached Central City a day later and were immediately taken to the Emerald Palace for a private audience with her Majesty Queen Alexandra. The ailing queen was confined to her bedchamber with only a few servants and her advisor for company. Jeb went into the chamber alone while Jiminy and Wyatt waited out in the hall.

"I hope I can go home soon," the Tin Man murmured.

"You have a family?"

He nodded. "Just got married a few months ago. Her name's Adora Kantrine. Her nana's the High Priestess at the Temple of Lurline."

Adora. Adora Cain. That's the woman I got the travel storm token from! Jiminy thought.

"Something wrong Jiminy? You've got the strangest look on your face."

"I think I may have seen her before," he murmured.

"She visits her nana all the time and she mentioned seeing you, but you were still resting."

"Has she ever been to the Forest?"

"Probably. Maybe you could come by our place and see her."

"Maybe."

Jeb emerged from the queen's suite an hour later and led his companions down the hall to the princess's private residence. Her consort sat at a table sculpting a lump of clay while the princess paced the floor with her daughter in her arms.

"Jeb!" she cried.

"Hello Vinny! We've come to see Azkadellia and to introduce her to someone special."

"Oh?" Lavinia's eyebrows rose.

Jeb nudged Jiminy forward. "This is Jiminy, the former advisor to Princess Snow White."

"Oh! We heard Queen Regina cast a terrible curse that sent everyone to the Other Side. How did he escape and why is he human and not a cricket?"

"It was the will of the OZ. Jiminy has been chosen to be your daughter's guardian. He was born human but enchanted to be a cricket."

"May I?" Jiminy asked softly, holding out his arms. Lavinia placed her precious bundle in them and pulled back the blanket. The baby gazed up at him, a small smile on her lips. "Hello Dellia. I think I'll call you Dellia. It's much easier to say than Azkadellia!"

He carried her over to the sofa and sat down. Her small hand curled around his finger and it began to glow.

"Oh! Look at that!" Lavinia exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Ahamo demanded angrily. "Why are their hands glowing like that?"

"It's harmless," Jeb said though only he knew the real reason for the glow, it was to identify them as bondmates.

"I will do my best for you, Dellia," Jiminy said softly, his other hand caressing the baby's small cheek. "I don't know how to be a Guardian yet, but I'll learn."

He shifted her to his other arm and began to sing a song he'd heard in a movie his construct seemed to like loosely based on his life with Geppetto and Pinocchio.

"Like a bolt out of the blue

Fate steps in and sees you through

When you wish upon a star

Your dreams come true

When you wish upon a star

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires will come to you…"

Ahamo put his arm around his wife's shoulder as tears streamed down her cheeks. It was a beautiful scene and shattered any doubts they would've had that Jiminy would be a fierce protector of their child and heir.

"Sir, when will I begin my training?" Jiminy asked Jeb as he handed the child back to her mother.

"Immediately."

"Will I be permitted to visit the princess?"

"You certainly will," Lavinia said. "She needs to learn to trust you now that her safety is in your hands." Her lavender eyes met his. "Don't disappoint her, Jiminy."

"I won't."

The baby began to cry the moment Jiminy stood up to follow his mentor out of the chamber and continued crying until she fell into an exhausted sleep.

Queen Alexandra passed away two days later, and the new queen was given the difficult task of preparing a suitable memorial for the late queen along with her own coronation. She decided that the people would be given three days to mourn the late queen with her coronation to be held on the morning of the fourth day.

Jiminy observed the proceedings in silence, reminded of the conflicts and controversy that arose after King Leopold's death. Many suspected his young bride was the culprit, yet they didn't dare voice their opinions aloud. He'd only been a royal messenger then but he'd never trusted Leopold's second queen and were among those wishing to remove her as Regent and place Snow White on the throne even though she was only seventeen at the time. Few were shocked when the princess disappeared, and the Queen declared her an enemy of the state. He'd resigned his commission as royal messenger and pledged his allegiance to Princess Snow, carrying her messages as those of her prince to their allies throughout the realm. He was honored when she named him Royal Advisor. Now he would swear his allegiance to the House of Ozopov and its heir, Princess Azkadellia. He'd heard whispers among the mourners at Queen Alexandra's funeral questioning Lavinia's ability to rule and her choice of consort, a slipper as they called him. Ahamo seemed to have little interest in Ozian affairs, preferring to spend most of his time at a little cottage on the grounds at Finaqua. He hoped the queen would prove her critics wrong in the years to come.

Two days after the coronation Jiminy was given a suite of rooms in Jeb's mansion and the next morning he was introduced to Lannot, the commander of the Ozian royal army.

The older man eyed his new pupil skeptically. "You want me to teach him the Path of the Dragon? He's too old!"

"He was under an enchantment for nearly a century. Don't underestimate him," Jeb advised. "Teach him."

"I'm already teaching Ambrose Benu and that boy is giving me nothing but headaches!" Lannot whined. "This one would keel over with exhaustion after the first lesson."

"I think not. You will train him and send him to me when you feel he is ready for the trial to assume the rank of Master. Or I will decide when he's ready."

The Talons of the Dragon were an ancient order charged with protecting the four Guardians of the Balance and on rare occasions a Talon was chosen to be a Guardian's bondmate. Their training was similar to a samurai warrior on the other side with their primary weapons being katana swords. Some Talons were also mages but preferred to engage in physical combat first since using too much magic drained them quickly. A Talon was identified by a specific set of markings and their locations on their bodies depended on which side of the bloodline they protected. An Ozopov Talon was marked with two crossed katana swords on the upper right arm and a sleeping dragon on the right shoulder blade. The Guardians themselves often asked to be trained as Talons, one of them being the legendary Dorothy Gale.

"I'll train him but don't blame me if he fails," Lannot snorted.

"I won't fail," Jiminy said angrily. "I may be old, but I still have my wits about me!"

"Come on then." Lannot led him down the hall to the training room where a group of men were practicing various physical combat skills, Wyatt Cain among them. He and the young man Jiminy recognized as Ambrose Benu were sparring with each other.

"Cain, Benu! Over here!" Lannot shouted. The two men ceased their combat and ran over to them. "We've been asked to train him. Cain, I'll be pairing him with you since you are a Level Three."

"When will I become a Level Three?" Ambrose demanded.

"When you stop acting like you're at a ball," Lannot retorted. "This is not a dance class and I want you to stop using those silly dance moves."

"They work!" Ambrose defended.

"I don't care. You stop or you're out!" he barked and stormed off.

"Ass," Wyatt muttered. "Come on Jiminy. There's a lot to learn. We'll start with hand to hand combat first. You know how to throw a punch, I hope."

Jiminy clenched his hand into a fist and drew it back. As he swung it forward it contacted with Wyatt's hand.

"Well! I'm impressed."

"My parents were con artists and thieves and I've ahh…gotten into a few altercations with some angry marks but I always got the worst of it."

"Not anymore you won't."

His father taught him how to throw a punch and a few other basic fighting skills but Jiminy was soon to learn that there were many others more difficult to master that required more strength and stamina and he was determined to keep himself fit enough to master them.

"Not bad for an old man," Wyatt joked after their last lesson of the day.

"I wasn't that much old than you when I was enchanted," Jiminy said as he took a sip of water. "Twenty-eight annuals."

"Your construct looks older or so Jeb says."

"He's how I'll look when the Dark Curse is broken according to Jeb. Time's frozen on the Other Side. We should be going before Jeb sends a search party."

"He's sendin me home to spend some time with Adora. Come with me. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you again."

The scent of freshly baked bread filled their nostrils the moment they arrived. Adora Cain set a bowl of rolls on the table and struggled to maintain her composure when she noticed that her husband wasn't alone.

"Wyatt, who is our guest?" she asked him.

You know damned well who I am now I want some answers! Jiminy thought angrily.

We'll talk later, after my husband is asleep. Until then say nothing, he heard her voice speak in his mind, stunned that she'd been able to read his thoughts.

"Um, I'm the former advisor to Princess Snow White but a travel storm brought me to the OZ the day the Evil Queen cast her curse."

"He's Princess Azkadellia's guardian or he will be when he finishes his training."

"You must be famished. Wash yourselves off then come and eat."

Wyatt chuckled. "That's not a request. No dirty men at her table."

During dinner Adora confirmed that she was indeed the granddaughter of the High Priestess of the Temple of Lurline but Jiminy also suspected she was a mage given her ability to read his thoughts and use mindspeak, an ability Jeb had yet to teach him. It was late when they finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen.

"You can stay here tonight Jiminy. Jeb won't mind," Adora said, leaving no room for argument, nor would he refuse her. He wanted answers and was determined to get them. Once he was settled in his room, he felt himself being teleported outside. Adora was sitting on a chair on the front porch.

"That token was only meant for me, wasn't it?" he demanded.

"Yes."

"You knew who I was?"

"I chose you." Adora waved her hand over her face and released her glamour spell. Jiminy stepped back his eyes wide with shock.

"You're Ozmalita Diosa!" he exclaimed.

"I am."

"Does Wyatt know?"

She shook her head. "He can't."

"Why?"

"Because if he knew the truth, he would try to prevent events to come."

"And what is the truth?"

"He is the Guardian and bondmate of the South Guardian as he was in his first life."

"First life! Are you saying HE is the first tin man?"

"And the South Guardian will be Lavinia's second child. Dorothia Gale herself, reborn into her own bloodline."

"He's married to you!"

"The time will come when I will have to step aside. Until then, I will love him as I did in my first human form as Nimmie, the servant girl of Nessarose."

"Who is Dellia's bondmate? She has one, doesn't she?"

"He will reveal himself at the proper time."

"She is in my care until then?"

"Yes."

"Then I will do my best to keep her safe. You know Wyatt will be furious when he finds out the truth."

She nodded. "But I will do my duty as the OZ wills."

We all have our burdens to bear I suppose, he thought. "But it can't be easy for you. You love him but you're willing to sacrifice that love to serve the will of the OZ?"

"We must Jiminy. Commit this warning to memory should you ever be tempted to alter the fate that has been chosen for you:

The punishment is severe for those who defy the will of the OZ

A heart bond of our choosing is one that is meant for eternity

Should this bond be broken by human device

Everything it holds most dear it will be made to sacrifice

The rivers of its memory will flow with the image of spilled blood

Until the dams burst and they become a raging flood

If one day the lost half of its heart returns to reclaim

The one who has forgotten it, through love shall it be relieved from its pain…" she recited.

"Was that what happened the first time?"

She nodded. "Dorothia chose Nicolai over Nick and I attempted to interfere in their bonding before Dorothia arrived. Nick was cursed because of me and Dorothia and Nicolai's marriage was an unhappy one and violent. She was forced to kill him."

"Goddess sakes! Then I'll do well to remember!"

She smiled. "I would rather be your ally than your enemy Jiminy. I know the pain I've caused you by parting you from your brother, but I give you my word that you will see him and your friends again. But until then, part of him will be with you as you begin your training. The Path of the Dragon is not any easy one as I am learning myself."

"You? How?"

"Wyatt is teaching me. My powers are limited in my human form, that is why I wish to learn."

"Jeb is going to be teaching me how to use my magic."

"There is a battle coming that you must be prepared for."

He nodded. "I will be or die trying."

Jiminy's magic lessons began the following day and by the end of his sixth week of training he'd mastered conjuration, teleportation, clairvoyance, mind control, spellcasting and telekinesis.

"I'd like to try something Jeb, if you don't mind," he said to Jeb one morning.

"I'm curious to see what."

Jiminy placed his umbrella and katana sword on the floor and waved his hand. They rose and hovered above him as he began to chant. Jeb watched with pride as the two objects merged into one but only the umbrella was visible.

"Excellent! You've learned how to use your umbrella to conceal your sword! Well done my boy! Well done!"

Jiminy gripped the handle of the umbrella and waved his hand over it. Seconds later it became his katana sword. "And an umbrella is how it will look to others…until I have need of my sword."

He was also learning ways to incorporate his Talon training into his line of defense when using too much magic drained him. Jeb informed him that he would tire easier than an a more experienced mage and by the end of the first year he'd mastered the most difficult power, astral projection and had moved to Level Two in his Talon training.

"That man's gonna be a force to be reckoned with one of these days," Wyatt remarked to Jeb while Jiminy was being given the test to complete Level Three in his Talon training six years later. "Lannot's actually quaking in his boots that Jiminy's gonna be given his post."

"Well he's certainly earned it," Jeb said with a smile, watching with pride as his apprentice sparred with General Lannot wearing a bracelet on his wrist that restricted his magic.

"There were times when I wondered who was teachin who," Wyatt admitted. They heard a snort behind them and turned to see Gregory Zero standing there. Zero and Wyatt had entered the Tin Man academy together and Zero was still licking his wounds over not being chosen for the Mystic Man's protection detail or the Royal Army. "Don't you have patrols to do, Zero?" Wyatt snapped. The younger man glared at him and stormed off.

Lannot lay on the floor, the tip of Jiminy's sword pointed at his throat.

"Son of a bitch, he beat him!" Wyatt exclaimed. "He's gonna make Master before I do at the rate he's goin!"

Jiminy helped Lannot to his feet and walked over to where Jeb and Wyatt were standing, panting.

"Not…bad…for an old man, eh?"

"You're not old Jiminy. You'll be happy to know that I've just gotten a message from the Queen's private secretary. You've been summoned to the palace to take your rightful place as the officer in charge of Princess Azkadellia's protection detail. Congratulations, Commander Ozopov."

"Commander Ozopov? But…but my surname is Whitmore."

"The Queen has decided that you will take their surname. Come. Princess Azkadellia is expecting you."

He smiled. "I've seen her watching me train from time to time, but she's never approached me and I've watched her practice her magic with Miles Toto but I've kept a respectable distance as you've asked me to."

"Well now it's time for you to make your formal introduction. You know the way. Take us to the palace."

Jiminy gestured and the pair vanished in a puff of smoke. They reappeared in the Finaqua Palace gazebo. Queen Lavinia was sitting on the swing while her daughter stood waiting for her new companion to arrive. Jiminy clenched his left hand into a fist and pressed it against his right shoulder, kneeling before the child.

"I am Commander Jiminy Ozopov and I give you my word that I will protect you until my last breath for my word as a Talon is my bond," he recited.

"You may rise, Commander," the princess instructed. The moment he got to his feet she held out her hand to him. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you," she said softly.

"Ah but you already have, Your Highness. I've seen you watching my training sessions when your mother brings you to Central City."

"I couldn't help it. I've heard about you for as long as I can remember but they said you weren't ready to meet me yet. But now that we have met, I'm hoping we can become friends, Commander Ozopov. I've been told you call me Dellia."

"I do. I find it easier to say than Azkadellia, if you don't mind Your Highness."

"Dellia," she corrected with a smile. "Everyone else calls me 'Az' but only you will be allowed to call me 'Dellia'."

He chuckled. "I'm honored, Dellia and you may call me Jiminy."

"Jiminy it is then. Would you like to go for a walk in the labyrinth?"

"If you can lead me out of it. I have a habit of getting lost."

"I don't," she said with a grin and took his hand in hers.

"And now my boy," Jeb murmured as they disappeared inside. "Let's see what you can do together." He slammed the tip of the cane he was carrying into the ground and a black cloud formed over the maze.

"What are you doing?" Lavinia cried.

"What I must. Preparing a Guardian for the battle to come."

Jiminy and Az were in the center of the labyrinth when he froze.

"Jiminy, what is it?"

"Stay behind me," he instructed.

What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Magic. He sensed dark magic…and it was coming for them. He attempted to teleport them out of the labyrinth only to be blasted back by a shield.

"Jiminy!" Az cried, kneeling beside him. Their hands began to glow the moment they touched. Jiminy jumped to his feet as vines came out of one of the bushes and wrapped themselves around Az and began to drag her away.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Jiminy growled, his eyes glowing green as his magic flared. He waved his hand over his umbrella and transformed it into his katana sword. He swung it and sliced through the vines holding his young charge captive. She ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"What was that?" she cried.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out. Stay close to me," he advised.

"Jiminy, look! The Labyrinth is changing! Why is it changing?"

"Someone's changing it," he murmured, hearing demonic laughter on the wind as the path to their escape began to vanish. "Dellia, listen to me. Listen to me." He cupped her small face in his hands. "I need you to picture how the labyrinth looks in your memories, the path you take to get in and out. Can you do that?"

"I'll try," she murmured.

"Concentrate, Dellia. Do you see it?"

"Yes."

He took her hands in his. "Now try to send the image to my mind. Remember your lesson with Toto? It's the same only now you're sending the image to me and we're going to change the labyrinth back together. You can do it." He closed his eyes.

"Jeb, stop this!" Lavinia pleaded while they observed through a seeing globe on the gazebo. It began to rain inside the labyrinth.

"No. And don't try to stop me Vinny because we both know you can't."

"Damn you!" she cursed. "Why are you doing this?"

"Your daughter and Jiminy need to be able to trust each other completely, Vinny. I am merely testing them to see if they can."

Inside the labyrinth Az was shivering as the rain soaked her dress.

"Focus, Dellia!" he cried as the light from their glowing hands shone brighter and her soaked clothes began to dry. "That's it!"

The passages began to reappear. Jiminy released Az's hands and turned his sword back into his umbrella, slamming the tip of it into the ground, throwing a shield over them while the rain continued pouring.

Jiminy stepped outside the shield and green sparks emitted from his hands. He raised them in the air and blasted the dark cloud. It began to break up and move away from the labyrinth. The shield shattered, and he slumped against one of the hedges, exhausted.

"Jiminy!" Az ran over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I…I'll be alright Dellia," he murmured and struggled to stand.

"You can't even walk!"

"Have to get you out of here," he murmured. She grabbed his hand again.

"I'M getting us out here," she said firmly and they vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing on the gazebo with Lavinia and Jeb.

"Jiminy, what happened?" Jeb asked. His apprentice glared at him.

You know damn well what. Do you honestly think I can't sense your aura even when you try to mask it? He heard Jiminy's angry voice say in his head. Now what was that? A test?

A trust exercise that you performed well. This will not be the first time you will need to combine your abilities when faced with danger.

"Someone has a bizarre sense of humor," he said aloud.

"Are you alright, my Azkadellia?"

"I'm fine, Mother. I had Jiminy with me," the little girl said softly.

"Thank you Commander Ozopov," the queen said softly.

"I gave you my word that I would protect your daughter with my last breath Your Majesty and I will," Jiminy said firmly.

"You are NOT dying on me, Jiminy Ozopov!" Az cried. "I won't allow it!"

"I will if the OZ wills it, Dellia."

Jeb and Lavinia looked at each other. "Dellia?"

"No one but Jiminy is allowed to call me that, Mother," Az said. Her mother laughed.

"Alright if that's what you wish."

"That is what I wish. Jiminy!"

He lay on the floor of the gazebo unconscious. She knelt beside him and took his hand in hers. "No, you are not dying on me!" she cried and began to shake him.

"He's only exhausted, Az. He'll be fine with a day's rest," Jeb soothed.

"You'd better not be lying to me!" the child said angrily. "Or I swear to Lurline I'll put slugs in your bed. Don't think I can't do it!"

"Azkadellia!" Lavinia snapped. "Apologize!"

She lowered her head shamefully. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Jiminy, that's all."

"He'll be fine, cousin. Come, we must get him inside so that he can rest." Jeb waved his hand over his apprentice and shrunk him then summoned him to his hand. He clapped his hands together and Jiminy was teleported to his new rooms in the palace.

Jiminy awoke the following morning to find a very worried princess sitting beside his bed.

"Dellia….what are you doing here? You should be having your lessons."

"I wanted to make sure Jeb wasn't lying because if he was, I was putting slugs in his bed."

"Dellia!" he cried. "Don't do that again."

"I meant it when I said I want us to become friends, Jiminy."

"Oh, I think we will," Jiminy said confidently. "And I think I'll have as much to learn from you as you will from me."

They smiled at each other.

"And I want to teach you about the other side. Daddy has been teaching everything he remembers from it. The books, the music…and the moving pictures!"

"Oh, my construct has seen some of these moving pictures. People even sing in them."

"Mother said you sang a song from those moving pictures when I was a baby."

"I did."

"Can you sing it again, please?"

"When you wish upon a star

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires will come to you

If your heart is in your dream

No request is too extreme

When you wish upon a star

As dreamers do

Fate is kind

She brings to those who love

The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing…" he sang.

They had no way of knowing that years later their secret longing would be for each other.


	3. A Journey To The Other Side

The Northern Island

The United Realms

Summer, 2019

Belle Strogoff, wife of Rumplestiltskin, sat in a replica of what had once been the favorite chair of one of the OZ's last Queens' Alexandra Azkadellia Ozopov, a copy of her realm's Once Upon a Time books in her hands. She glanced over at Archie, sometimes known as Jiminy to those from the other realms, and Azkadellia, seated on the sofa across from her. Their story, like his brother's was being featured in a new series Belle was producing called "The United Realms' Greatest Love Stories'. The couple was nervous about participating at first because it would force them to relive some of the most painful years of their lives but if David had been able to do it, so would they. Their story, like those of the other displaced fairy tale characters from their world, was featured in the Once Upon a Time book but the book didn't give the full story.

"Before the break you were describing the trust exercise the Mystic Man set up to see whether you and Az would be able to work together to defend yourselves against a magical attack. I would say it was a success."

Az smiled. "It was. I'd been watching Jiminy for weeks before we were formally introduced and had an idea of how powerful he was but that was the only reason why I admired him. I'd heard bits and pieces of his story by listening in when Miles and Ambrose were talking about him."

The camera was now on Adora in her current incarnation as Doctor Natalie Durant.

"The majestic queen of the OZ

Had two lovely daughters she

One to darkness, she be drawn

One to light, she be show

Double eclipse it is foreseen

Light meets dark in the stillness between

But only one and one alone

Shall hold the emerald and take the throne

Only one and one alone," the goddess recited. "The Ozopov heirs had been at war with each other for centuries. One daughter would always be drawn to the darkness while the other one would be reborn into the light. This was the case with Az and DG's mother Lavinia and her sister Ekaterina and it would be so with them but unlike Lavinia and Ekaterina, Az and DG were now the North and South Guardians and the blood feud had to end with them."

She sighed before she continued. "Aramon predicted that if the Guardians circle was not completed in the year of the double eclipses, our world would be destroyed. My task was to choose the strongest hearts in all the realms to stand at the sides of the Strogoff and Ozopov heirs. As we learned in David's segment, I split Morgan Whitmore's soul between his twin nephews because one of them would be chose to stand at the North Gate. Jiminy would inherit his uncle's fighting skills as well as his strategic thinking because he would need both for his own battles against the darkness."

She waved her hand and a pendant appeared in it. "This is the original pendant Az and Jiminy's soul was in before they were born into their physical bodies but Jiminy's powers would be bound until he was brought to the OZ and reunited with Az."

"It was one soul?" Belle asked her.

Adora smiled. "As you and Rumple's was before you were born. Only when you were born into your physical bodies would it split."

"The bond we create reunites it," spoke up Rumple from the fireplace.

"But Jiminy's bond was going to be a challenge to reforge."

"That's an understatement," he muttered.

Adora ignored him and continued. "I knew having them meet while Az was still a child presented a challenge, I was confident they would grow to love each other once Az became an adult…"

"We had a little push from an unlikely source but we'll get into that later," Archie said softly.

Oz (The Outer Zone)

Years earlier

Jiminy and Az were inseparable from that day on, enjoying teaching each other everything they'd learned in their lives up until that point. Az was fascinated by Jiminy's tales of life in the Enchanted Forest as a cricket and he enjoyed hearing her tales of life in the Ozian Court, what little experience she had of it. They would spend most evenings accessing the memories of Jiminy's construct, more specifically his memories of Other Side culture. When he wasn't seeing patients, Archie spent most of his free time reading, going to the movies or lunch with Geppetto under his cursed name of Marco. Jiminy was relieved that their friendship remained intact during the curse, but he still worried about his brother and Rose. All his efforts to try to view their lives were blocked by a powerful spell. He had no doubt Maleficent was responsible for it or Regina, but he never stopped trying.

Skeptical of him at first, the Prince Consort eventually learned to trust Jiminy and even aided his daughter and her new friend in their quest to learn Other Side culture but Ahamo's knowledge was only limited to the decades he grew up in, the Sixties and Seventies. They enjoyed visiting Ahamo's cottage while he was working and listening to the records the Prince Consort had taken a travel storm back to his home in Kansas to bring back. Jiminy used his magic to dress them in the clothing from the Flower Power era and they would have little 'hippie parties' that were their precious secret for Lavinia had no interest in Other Side culture and preferred the more Victorian culture she'd been raised in.

One afternoon they were having one of these parties when Lavinia arrived with Ambrose Benu. Ambrose had been assigned to the Queen as her personal guard. It was the second highest honor a Talon could receive, only surpassed by the honor of serving and protecting a Guardian of the Balance.

Jiminy and Az were dancing on the lawn, Az wearing an exact copy of Cass Elliot's famous 'Sunburst Dress' while Jiminy was dressed like Jimi Hendrix. Ahamo was sitting behind his easel apply the finishing touches to the sketch he made of them, Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love' playing on the gramophone on the table beside him. The queen and Ambrose stared at them, mouths agape.

"Azkadellia, what….what in the name of Lurline are you wearing?"

"I look like Mama Cass!" she exclaimed and spun around. "See?"

"Who?"

Ahamo laughed from behind his easel.

"And Jiminy looks like Jimi Hendrix."

"Who?"

"They're singers, Mother. They sing about peace and love on the Other Side, right Daddy?"

"That's right, Princess."

"Ahamo! You….you encourage this nonsense?!"

"Oh, lighten up, Lavinia. They're just having a little fun."

"Commander Ozopov, do you call this protecting my daughter?"

Jiminy lowered his glasses and glowered at the Queen. "I do, Your Majesty. She's never out of my sight for a minute and it encourages her creativity."

"Oh, very well but I do not want you dressing like that at royal functions. I mean it."

"I won't Mother."

"Ambrose, I'd like to return to the palace now."

"I'll have Vy-Sor escort you back."

"You're not coming." Her face fell.

"Not yet. I find all this fascinating."

She shook her head and returned to her awaiting carriage.

"So, tell me all about this!" Ambrose demanded.

Az grabbed his hand and led him over to the blanket Jiminy placed on the grass for her to sit on. "Oh Ambrose you won't believe some of the things Daddy showed me from the Other Side…the music….the moving pictures….the gadgets."

"Gadgets?" His eyes widened. "Now you're talking doll."

"Have Daddy take you there one of these days. You won't be sorry."

"We could go now," Ahamo suggested.

"Ummm…Your Highness…the Queen…"

"Will be busy in council meetings. Time moves differently over there, slower than ours in fact. We could be gone for hours over there but minutes here."

"Come on Ambrose! Please!" Az pleaded.

"You might as well give in Ambrose. Even I can't resist her when she gives me that look," Jiminy laughed.

"Okay Az, you win. Let's go!"

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute! We need transportation and a carriage ain't gonna do. Jiminy, can you bring my balloon here?" Ahamo asked him.

"That thing still in one piece?"

"No but you can fix it can't you?"

"Yes."

"Oooh we can fly like in that song!" Az cried.

Jiminy gestured and Ahamo's hot air balloon appeared in the courtyard. It had been badly damaged during the travel storm but a few sparks of magic repaired the tears. They climbed into the basket and slowly the balloon began to rise. Jiminy took a travel storm token out of his pocket and tossed it, bracing themselves as the winds picked up.

Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon

Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon

We could float among the stars together, you and I

For we can fly, we can fly!" Az sang. "Come on Jiminy! Sing with me!"

"The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon

It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon

We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky

For we can fly, we can fly!" he sang.

"I really need to find a way to make these things easier to travel in," Ambrose yelled.

"Hold on to me, Dellia!" Jiminy instructed.

"We're goin in!" Ahamo laughed.

Ambrose began to pray.

For several minutes all they could see was the inside of the funnel cloud and then suddenly the cloud vanished, and they were gazing at a clear blue sky.

"Welcome to the Other Side," Ahamo greeted and the balloon began its descent into the field in front of a small farmhouse. Az hopped out the moment the basket touched the ground and started running.

"Azkadellia Andromeda Ozopov, you stop right there," Jiminy ordered firmly.

The child skidded to a halt.

"But Jiminy, it's just a field!"

"I don't care if it's the brick road. You wait for me. Understand?"

She lowered her head shamefully. "I'm sorry."

"So, this is where Queen Regina sent your people?" Ambrose asked Jiminy. "Doesn't look like much to me."

"This is only a small part of this world Ambrose. Come on. We need to get some different clothes," Ahamo led them to the house, frustrated when he found the door locked. "Dangit! Left my key in the OZ."

"Let me try," Jiminy said and waved his hand over the doorknob. To everyone's surprise it opened.

"Wait a minute. Isn't this a land without magic?" Ambrose asked him.

"That's what Regina thinks, but it's not. This is Aramon's world. There's magic here, it just works differently so I'll need to limit what I use. You too, Dellia."

The group went inside, Jiminy on full alert in case they ran into trouble. In the living room Ahamo grabbed a photograph off the mantel and handed it to his daughter. "Those are your grandparents. Hank and Emily Bennett."

"I want to meet them Daddy! Where are they?"

"They've passed on honey," he said sadly.

"They've gone to Paradise to be with Lurline?"

"Not in this world. They're with God."

"Dellia, remember our discussion about Christianity?" Jiminy reminded her.

"That people on this side have different beliefs than we do, and we should respect them," she recited.

Ambrose knelt in front of the television set. "What is this?" he exclaimed and turned the dial. "Moving pictures and they're all stored in this little box! Amazing!"

"Ahhh, the soaps are on! Turn 'em off!" Ahamo whined.

"Soaps? They talk about soap? Sounds interesting."

"No, it's a bunch of mushy love stories. Lavinia would be addicted to them if we had TVs in the OZ. If you wanna watch, go ahead. We're gonna go look for some clothes."

They left Ambrose to his TV watching and went upstairs to the bedrooms. Some of his old clothes would still fit but he knew styles changed radically in his world.

"Jiminy…you think you could conjure us up some money?"

"Ummm…I can try. Why?"

"Because this stuff went out of fashion in years ago. This is the 80s and we really need to look the part."

"My construct…"

"Your construct still dresses like it's 1983. This is 1989. I haven't been here in a while, so I haven't kept up."

"Well, Dellia and I have been watching 'Dallas' 'Falcon Crest' and 'Knots Landing' and she always likes to look the women on there. Maybe I can conjure up some of their clothes or clothes from some of those videos on the music channel."

Ahamo chuckled. "You going around dressed like JR Ewing? I can see it." He would sit it on their television binges himself.

"No, but I remember enough about their casual outfits for us to blend in."

He gestured, and they were dressed in t-shirts and jeans. Ahamo grinned when he saw Jiminy's Rolling Stones-shirt. He was wearing a Pink Floyd one. They found Az in one of the other rooms still wearing her Ozian clothes. Jiminy transformed her dress into a Bangles t-shirt and jeans, her hair styled like Suzanna Hoffs since she was fond of their music. Ahamo retrieved his Polaroid from his bedroom and took a picture of them.

"Now let's see if we can pry Ambrose away from the tube long enough to do some exploring."

Ambrose sat on the sofa with a notepad in his hand, taking detailed notes on everything he'd seen and heard on the programs he was watching, determined to present his findings to the Queen to modernize the OZ.

Ahamo found his father's truck in the field still in good working order but out of gas. With a little magic from Jiminy and Az the truck was running again, and they were off to the town to do a little sightseeing.

Ahamo, Jiminy and Az were accustomed to the sights of small-town America, Az and Jiminy having viewed them through her mirror or his construct's memories but it was difficult to keep Ambrose's excitement under restraint. Jiminy quickly conjured them some money before they arrived at the shopping center.

"Clothes first," Ahamo informed them. "We want to keep a supply of the latest fashions on hand in case we wanna come back again."

"Oh, I wanna come back. I wanna know all about this place!" Ambrose said excitedly.

"Jiminy, maybe we can go to Storybrooke," Az suggested. He shook his head.

"No. I am not risking Regina getting her hands on you," he said firmly. "She'd use you to bring magic there and torture everyone worse than she already is." His eyes narrowed to slits. "We should've executed her when we had the chance."

"But didn't you argue for that?" Ambrose inquired.

"I did. Regina's crimes warranted it, but Snow wanted to give her a chance. And look what she did with it? Ripped our land apart!"

"But I wouldn't have you," Az said sadly. "Jiminy, maybe we can find your brother and Rose while we're here! We know where they were sent."

"I don't think it would hurt," Ambrose added.

"Jasper won't know who I am. He's cursed and so is Rose. I'd have to be glamored."

"Daddy, can we go? Please? It would make him so happy," Az pleaded, giving her father the sad eyed look.

"Okay. Where are they?"

"Jasper's in San Francisco and Rose is in Pennsylvania."

Ahamo smirked. "Hippie central. I like it."

"Ummm…that was in the Sixties, Your Highness. San Francisco's not like that anymore I don't think."

"Well let's find out shall we. Summon the storm."

"I have to be careful. We can't drop it in the middle of the city." Jiminy closed his eyes for a few minutes. "There's a place David likes to go that can give me the privacy we need." He placed his hand over the consort's. "Toss it Your Highness."

They held onto each other when the cloud started spinning toward them.

San Francisco, California

Moments later they found themselves in a park. The group emerged from their hiding place and began to walk in the park, greeting everyone they met. Some stopped to chat, others simply ignored them and went about their business. A short time later they heard a woman scream and a man came running toward them, a knife in his hands. Jiminy gently pushed Az into her father's arms and swung his umbrella, striking the man in the face. He fell to the ground.

"You stay right there, or this goes into your throat!" Jiminy hissed.

"I'll take it from here," he heard a familiar voice say and gasped in shock as his brother approached dressed in a police officer's uniform and hauled the man to his feet. Another officer arrived to assist him while he was advising the suspect of his rights.

"I thought for sure we were gonna lose him Molky," the older cop said breathlessly.

"Well we would have if it wasn't for…what the HELL!?"

"Geeze Molky, he could be your twin!" the other officer exclaimed.

"I don't have a twin."

Yes, you do, Jiminy thought.

"Yes, you do! You just don't remember him!" Az cried.

"Dellia!" Jiminy muttered. "Ummm…Officer you have to excuse my friend's daughter. She's just a little excited."

"No, I'm not! Tell him, Jiminy!"

"Dellia, please! Now's not the time…"

His brother's eyes narrowed. "Well I'm gonna make time as soon as I take care of this piece of slime. And uhhh, you'll need to come down to the station to make a statement since you caught him first."

"We'll be there Officer…"

"Molk. David Molk," Jasper held out his hand for his brother to shake. The moment their hands touched Az and Jiminy saw a flash of light. The men stared at each other.

Jiminy? He heard David's voice in his mind.

Jasper! You remember!

It's David now. What the hell is going on?

We were cursed. It's a long story. Let's get your mugging suspect down to the station and then we'll talk.

Ok.

David called a taxi for his brother and his companions while he and his partner took their suspect down to the station and processed him. Jiminy made a statement to another officer while they waited, a lot of them pausing in their work to stare at him while Az was all too happy to tell them that he was officer Molk's twin until he'd ordered her to stop. Jiminy never enjoyed scolding the girl but she always listened when he did.

An hour later David met them outside.

"I'm off duty so why don't we go somewhere private and talk. My place preferably." He started walking down the street.

"Don't you have a car?" Az asked him.

"Don't need it unless I'm on duty. We can catch a streetcar."

"It's not named 'Desire', is it?" Jiminy joked.

David smiled. "One of my favorite movies. How do you know so much about this side's culture?"

"I'll tell you once we get to your place."

"The means you have to travel here are amazing!" Ambrose whispered. "These automobiles would make travel in the OZ so much easier…and faster!"

They climbed onto the crowded streetcar, Jiminy keeping a firm grip on Az's arm. As they cruised down the street, they began to feel tremors in the road beneath them.

"Jiminy, what is that?" Az asked fearfully.

"Hold on!" David called out.

"Shit, it's a quake!" Ahamo cried.

"A what?" Ambrose asked.

"Just hold on Ambrose."

"Jiminy!" Az sobbed.

The driver stopped the car and ordered everyone off.

"This way!" David called, pointing down the street. All around them people were screaming in terror while debris fell from the surrounding homes and buildings.

"David, look out!" Jiminy yelled, seeing a pile of rubble falling near his brother. He flicked his wrist and froze it then threw it in the opposite direction.

Az gestured and a mother and her baby safely avoided being crushed by an awning falling from a nearby coffee shop.

"Should they be using so much magic? People will see!" Ambrose hissed to Ahamo.

"They're too scared to care!"

Suddenly the ground stopped shaking.

"Unbelievable! It couldn't have been more than twenty seconds!" Ambrose exclaimed.

It had only been fifteen seconds but the sheer force of it had been powerful enough to topple buildings and bridges and they could hear explosions throughout the city.

"Jiminy, some of these people are hurt. We have to help them," Az cried. His brother was already tending to a young boy whose leg had been impaled by a piece of glass from a broken window.

"Don't drain yourself too hard Delia. We'll need to cast a memory spell once we're done," he advised. Az walked over to where David sat tending the boy.

"Let me try," she said and placed her hand on the boy's leg. She stopped the bleeding with her magic and closed the wound. "There. It's all better now."

"How'd you do that?"

"Magic," she said with a smile.

"That is so cool. Can you do more?"

"Maybe later. I gotta go help people hurt."

They heard a woman scream on the sidewalk. David rushed to her side.

"It's coming!" she groaned. "My baby's coming!"

"Oh boy!" he exclaimed, thankful his memories of watching his Bess deliver their children coming back to him. "Jiminy! Need you over here!"

"What's going on….oh no….we can't let her have her baby here!"

"I don't think we're gonna have a choice. Ma'am, how far apart are your contractions?"

"Jenny and aggghhh…" she screamed again.

"Close enough. David…do you ahhh….know anything about this?"

"Yeah, thank God but we gotta get her somewhere comfortable and clean." He gestured and a wheelchair appeared in front of them. David helped her into the chair, and they wheeled her into the coffee shop. Jiminy conjured a bed for the expecting mother to lie on.

"Jiminy, how can I help?" Az asked.

"We need towels, hot water and some instruments." He projected the images of the supplies to her mind. "Where are your father and Ambrose?"

"Outside helping everybody."

"Good. Quick, Dellia!"

Az conjured the supplies they needed.

"Okay now go outside with your father."

"But I want to see the baby born."

"Ummm…no you don't," David joked. "It's a little messy."

Jenny laughed between her contractions. David took his position by her feet. "Oh boy….Jenny, we're gonna need you to start pushing."

"Okay…ooooohhhhhhh!"

"Can you see anything?"

"Yeah. Come on Jenny, push! You can do it!" David encouraged. The young mother grunted and pushed hard. "I can see the baby's head. You're doing great Jenny. Keep pushing!"

The young mother was exhausted. Jiminy wiped her forehead with one of the towels as she continued to push. David grabbed the scissors and cut the umbilical cord while Jiminy cleaned the baby and examined him to be certain he was healthy.

"Congratulations," David said softly, placing the baby in his mother's arms. "It's a boy."

"Thank you. Officer! Thank you so much," she sobbed, cradling her son against her chest.

"Have you picked out a name?" Jiminy inquired.

The new mother smiled. "What are your names?" she asked them.

"Ours? Well….ahhhh….I'm David and this is my brother, Jiminy."

"Then my son's name will be David Jiminy Bretton," she murmured and kissed his small cheek. Jiminy excused himself to check on everyone outside. Az was exhausted from using so much magic and Ahamo and Ambrose were also exhausted from their efforts to help anyone they could. An hour later paramedics arrived and took Jenny and her baby to a hospital.

"Now," David said when he pulled his brother aside. "Were my eyes playing tricks on me or did I see you doing magic?"

"You did."

"Do you want to explain to me how?"

"I was born with it."

"You were born with magic?"

Jiminy nodded. "My powers didn't unlock until I arrived at their source. Oz. But the locals call it the OZ, the Outer Zone. Once I was healed from the injuries I sustained during the travel storm I was taken to the wizard to be trained both as a sorcerer and Dellia's guardian." He smiled. "Those fighting skills you learned as a knight in King Hubert's court were passed on to me."

"I didn't learn them in King Hubert's court. I learned them in King Edward IV's court."

"Wait….what?"

"Dorothy Gale isn't the only one with two souls. So am I. I was our uncle Morgan in my first life. Ozmalita came to me the day before I was executed and offered me the chance to be reborn into my own bloodline so that I could be reunited with the woman I loved." David sighed deeply. "I just haven't found her yet."

"Our uncle Morgan…you…were a knight during the Wars of the Roses?"

"I was a squire to King Richard III, but Edward made me the Earl of Mayford before his death. It's a small village in England. When he and Richard died, I had no other choice than to pledge my loyalty to the Tudors." David made a face. "And believe me, they lived up to the reputation they've earned, especially Henry. He had me executed along with many others who participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace. Ozmalita made my corpse disappear after the beheading so that it wouldn't be torn to pieces and scattered across the country. My descendants were probably never told that part of the story."

"The woman you wanted to be with…your wife?"

"One of them. I was married three times. My first wife's name was Anne Claycombe and she died two years after we were wed. Bess Lawton was my second wife and Katherine Tilney's and my marriage was Anne Boleyn's idea, but it was illegal because we'd married the people we wanted to marry in secret. Bess was one of Katherine of Aragon's wards. I wanted to marry her, and Queen Katherine gave us her blessing. We just needed the king's permission."

"Let me guess. He wouldn't give it because Anne talked him out of it."

"Partly. They both served Queen Katherine but when Henry started chasing Anne her family decided they were going to get all their relations in positions of power." David made a face. "Anne had her faults, but I honestly think she would've been happier with Henry Percy. Harry left her no other choice. The last time I saw him was after Jane's death and his heart was already turning dark."

"It was probably black when he died."

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since Jane Seymour died. There's something else you need to know Jiminy…the other half of my original soul is in you."

"Wait…your original soul was split between us? Why?"

"Ozmalita told me one of us was destined to become a Guardian. You are a Guardian. I have to do my own battle with darkness here on the streets of San Francisco. Wasn't anyone surprised by how quickly you mastered your fighting skills? They've been part of you from birth. I also used to have the second sight. That skill was passed on to my great-grandson." He sighed. "Brace yourself for another shock brother."

"Oh, I'm getting used to them now."

"Rumplestiltskin is my great-grandson."

"W…What? Now THAT has to be a joke!"

"It's not. His father Malcolm was my daughter Jane's oldest child. Jane was also born with magic, but she started manifesting dark powers when she was a child. Ozmalita warned me that I would need to send her to Oz to be retrained as a light mage and for Malcolm to train as a light mage."

"Something obviously went wrong David because we know Malcolm is Peter Pan, one of the darkest mages in all the realms."

"Because his father, Diarmid McDermott, was from a clan of Scots-Irish witches and warlocks well versed in dark magic. Most of them were burned at the stake." David sighed heavily. "And Rumple was born in that darkness."

"He had to be to become the West Guardian. His mother is Lilliana Strogoff, the daughter of Glinda and the Wizard. He has to be freed from the Dark One curse before the third double eclipse or Aramon's Prophecy is going to come true."

David cringed.

"I see you've heard of it."

"Yeah. From Merryweather, one of Rose's fairy godmothers. That was one of the other reasons why Aurora wanted Rose out of our world."

"Rumple, Dellia, DG, and Rumple's unborn grandchild are the four Guardians of the Balance, David. Their circle has to be united before the final eclipse in 2011 or Nonestica is going to be destroyed and we'll be trapped here forever."

"Being trapped here doesn't sound like a bad idea. I hated our world, Jiminy. We can do so much here now…I don't ever want to go back."

"Dellia wants to modernize the OZ when she becomes Queen. We've been following this world's culture through my construct as you can tell."

"What?"

"I sent a fake of myself to Storybrooke. Regina doesn't know the difference. He's a psychiatrist."

David laughed. "Never pictured you for a shrink Jiminy."

"Says the man who had to play mind games against Henry VIII," Jininy retorted. "I got it from you!"

"Well I had to if I wanted to stay alive, but my time was up after the Pilgrimage. I was in my seventies by then but still looked like I was in my fifties. Boy was Henry pissed about that."

"He would be. We really need to get somewhere safe. Do you think your place is still in one piece?"

David made a face. "I don't know. My landlord's a jerk but the place is cheap enough for my paygrade."

After making certain that everyone else on the streets were being taken care of, David led the group back to his apartment building. Fortunately, it was still standing but the apartment itself was a mess. Jiminy, Ambrose and Ahamo helped him clean up while Azkadellia took a much-needed nap in his bedroom. The earthquake left the building without power, but the men passed the time talking. Ambrose was fascinated by David's stories about life in the SFPD and began taking notes. He still believed modernization was the key to improving life in the OZ.

"I really hate to say this, but we should be getting back Jiminy," the consort reminded him. "Time does move differently in the OZ but if Lavinia comes back and we're gone, she'll call out all the guards to look for us."

Jiminy nodded. "There's one more thing that must be done."

"What?"

He glanced over at his brother. "David, I'm so sorry….but you have to forget this meeting."

"What! Why? I can't forget, not now! I have to find Rose. You're not wiping my memory until you show me she's safe."

"David!"

His twin glared at him. "Do it! Now!"

"Why are you shouting?" Az demanded.

"He has every right to be upset, Dellia. Alright David. I'll take you to Rose. Ambrose, you keep alert and if anything happens you summon me. Understand?"

Jiminy took his brother's hand and they vanished in a puff of smoke

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

Fall, 1989

The pair reappeared outside a farmhouse.

"Where are we?" David asked.

"Pennsylvania, a town called Bellefonte," Jiminy explained. "We're going to be like the ghosts in A Christmas Carol, David. No one can see or hear us."

He gestured and they disappeared again, reappearing in a bedroom on the second floor. A young girl with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes sat on the bed, a copy of VC Andrews' Dark Angel in her hands.

"She looks like her grandmother Elizabeth," David said with a smile.

"That is her cursed name. Elizabeth Ann Harrington. The curse placed her in the Harringtons' home and altered their memories and the memories of everyone they associate with to make them believe Elizabeth has been their child all along."

"Do they love her, Jiminy?"

"They do. She's had some issues with kids at school though and her only friends are in there," he explained, gesturing to the pile of books on the stand beside Elizabeth's bed. He waved his hand and a notebook appeared in it. He handed it to David.

David flipped through the pages, his eyes widening. "This is good! She's writing romance and horror at twelve?"

"She started writing horror when she was nine and has recently started writing romance."

David glanced over at poster on the wall for a popular rock group called The Rhodes Crew. There was a heart drawn in marker over the head of one of the members.

"The sleeping curse?"

"She doesn't have it."

"But she will," David said sadly. "And so will any daughters she has if she goes back to our world. This is the only way I know how to protect her and now you're telling me I have to forget her?"

She is Bess Lawton reborn, Jiminy. Jiminy heard Adora's voice say. Their hearts will find their way back to each other but for that to happen David cannot come into her life until she is older.

The sleeping curse?

The sleeping curse can only be broken by the true love's kiss of a white knight in blue.

Then that means David isn't her true love!

Yes, he is. He was a knight but now he wears blue….police officer's blue.

"You'll see her again David. That's all I can tell you for now. We should go."

"Goodbye Rose," he said softly. "I know you can't hear me, but I'll see you again…someday."

He looked at her one last time before they returned to his apartment.

San Francisco, California

Fall, 1989

The park was deserted when they returned to it two hours later, Ambrose holding one of the travel storm, tokens in his hands. He tossed it and they stood back waiting for the funnel cloud to form while Jiminy spoke to his brother alone.

"We'll see each other again when this curse is broken David. Until then you take care of yourself." He reached out and clasped his brother's hand in his. There was a bright white light and a watch with a brown leather strap appeared on David's hand. "Your memories will be in here along with some protection spells. Once the hands move on the hour, you'll forget seeing me. Once the curse breaks everything will come back to you. Call for me."

"Damn our parents," David muttered. "We should've grown up together."

"I have to do my battle with the darkness David and you are to see what it leaves behind. It's the will of the OZ."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," David grumbled and hugged his brother. "Goodbye Jiminy…and take care of yourself too!"

Jiminy stepped into the funnel cloud as the hands in David's watch moved to the hour. His memories gone, he walked out of the park convinced he'd been doing nothing more than patrolling to make certain everyone was safe from the earthquake.

Oz (The Outer Zone)

When Ahamo's balloon touched down on the grounds of Finaqua only twenty minutes had passed in the OZ and the queen was still in her council meeting.

"That was a wonderful trip!" Ambrose exclaimed. "All those modern gadgets. I'm going to get started on making some of them right away!"

"Why, when we can make them for you?" Az offered.

He smiled. "I wanna learn how to make 'em myself doll." He opened one of the books he'd purchased during their shopping trip in Topeka and started reading. Ahamo went back to his sculpting. Az conjured a boom box and started singing along with the song playing while Jiminy read a book.

"Denny was working it real hard

Down Sunset boulevard

Back in 1973

Why would he bother going home

His parents left him on his own

Who knows

Maybe they were out getting stoned

I don't really know

How we survived the glitter years

What did we do it all for

Do you remember the glitter years?..."


End file.
